
- 




1 



RESIDENCE IN BULGARIA; 



NOTES ON THE RESOURCES AND ADMINISTRATION 
OF TURKEY: 



THE CONDITION AND CHARACTER, MANNERS, CUSTOMS, AND LANGUAGE 
OF THE CHRISTIAN AND MUSSULMAN POPULATIONS, 
WITH REFERENCE TO THE EASTERN QUESTION. 



Sfo- B. ST. CLAIR, Cap*., 

Late 21st Fusiliers, 

CHARLES A. BROPHY. 




rn : 

m 
o 



LONDON: 

JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 

1869. 

The rigid of Translation is reserved. 



LONDON: PRINTED BY 'WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, DUKE STREET, STAMFORD STREET, 
AND CHARING CROSS. 



DEDICATION. 



We dedicate this book to J. A. Longworth, Esq., Her British 
Majesty's Consul-General in Seryia, as an expression of 
respect for the long experience which has enabled him to 
judge accurately between the different races and creeds of 
European Turkey, and especially for the courage with which 
he has expressed (in his Report to the Foreign Office, dated 
Belgrade, April 7th, 1867) opinions entirely contrary to the 
general prejudices of Western Europe, but none the less 
founded on truth and justice. 



THE AUTHORS. 



a 2 



By transfei 

APR 6 1915 



PREFACE. 



In justification of the Authors' attempt to describe some- 
thing of a country, which although but five or six days 
distant from England, is almost as little known as the 
interior of Africa, it is incumbent upon them to set forth 
such qualifications as they possess for the task. 

One of them has lived in Bulgaria for nearly three years, 
and, besides many years' experience of Eastern Europe and 
its peoples, knows Turkish well, and is thoroughly acquainted 
with all Slavonic languages and dialects, amongst the latter 
of which Bulgaria is of course classed ; the other has spent 
eighteen months in the same village, and has a fair know- 
ledge of Turkish. 

The Authors' head-quarters are a Christian village amongst 
the hills of the Balkans, where they have learnt to know the 
Bulgarian Kayah better than if they had resided for twenty 
years in a town. In the course of many shooting excursions 
in this and the neighbouring provinces, they have been 
thrown into close, and in most cases very pleasant, relations 
with the Mussulman populations — Turks, Tartars, Cir- 
cassians, and Arnaouts. Not requiring the aid of an inter- 
preter, and trusting to their guns as escort, they have had 
opportunities of hearing the unvarnished truth from Mus- 
sulman and Christian, such as would scarcely fall to the lot 
of a traveller accompanied by a dragoman or an escort of 
soldiers. 



vi 



PREFACE. 



As an excuse for the many shortcomings and defects of 
their book, the Authors must state that it was written with- 
out the possibility of access to any works of reference, either 
historical or statistical, and amidst many interruptions from 
illness and other causes. 

When this work was commenced some months since, it 
was intended to be merely a description of the manners and 
customs of the people, but as it proceeded, the Authors 
found themselves irresistibly compelled to allude to the 
many grievances and defects of organization which distin- 
guish this country above all others, and thus the book has 
assumed a more political character than they at first 
intended. 

The Authors have certainly no claims to be considered 
either politicians or political economists, but what they 
have written is the plain and literal truth, and the inferences 
drawn therefrom are such as must strike any disinterested 
person who knows the country districts of Turkey in 
Europe. In all that they have stated there is not a single 
instance of mere hearsay, nor have they ever received the 
allegations of either Mussulman or Christian without inquir- 
ing into and satisfying themselves of their accuracy. 

The names of individuals which are screened by initials 
can be given to any one, Philhellene or other, who may be 
sufficiently interested in the subjects to desire them, as also 
those of the persons whom the Authors have designated 
under fictitious names ; there is not an anecdote nor an 
assertion in the book which the Authors are not prepared to 
prove and substantiate. 

What is written about the Eastern Church will probably 
shock the preconceived ideas of many people in England, 



PREFACE. 



vii 



but what foundation have these ideas beyond the -imaginary 
tie of a common religion — imaginary, for the Greek religion 
as practised has nothing in common with our national faith — 
and sympathy for a people who are falsely supposed to be 
suffering and oppressed? It is but eighteen months ago 
that one of the Authors landed in Bulgaria, bringing with 
him the usual English prejudices in favour of Oriental 
Christianity and Eastern Christians ; how far those opinions 
have been modified by experience, may be judged from the 
book itself. 

The Eayah has been too much whitewashed by his numer- 
ous interested or disinterested admirers, political or senti- 
mental, whilst the Turk has been too much blackwashed by 
his enemies, or those who know nothing about him, and is 
very much in the condition of the Scotch minister's client, 
" Naebody prays for the puir cle'il." If the Authors should 
succeed in convincing their readers that both Christian and 
Mussulman have been greatly misrepresented in Western 
Europe, and that the country which they inhabit might and 
would, if left to a genuine Turkish administration untram- 
melled by foreign influence, become one of the most flourish- 
ing and powerful in the world, the object of this work will 
have been attained. 



Dekekuoi, 

May, 1868. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 



RAYAH VILLAGES OF BULGARIA. 

First aspect — The village public — An interior — The gipsy quarter — 
Habits of the gipsies — " Notice to quit " Page 1 



CHAPTER II. 
eayah villages of Bulgaria. — [Continued.) 

The traveller's reception — Family meal — Bulgarian features and physique 
— Ordinary costume — Holy day costume — Gagaous or mixed race — 
A hard bed — The traveller's reckoning — Bulgarian charges — Hospi- 
tality of the Turks .. .. 12 



CHAPTER III. 

ROADS AND MEANS OF COMMUNICATION. 

Devious routes — Ptepair or go round '? — Difficult locomotion — Employes 
classified — Mithat Pasha's road — Worse than none — A remedy sug- 
gested — Varna railroad — Postal irregularities — Telegraph clerks . . 24 

CHAPTER IV. 

BULGARIAN SUPERSTITIONS. 

Paganism and witchcraft tolerated by the Church — Feast of all Nature — 
Switch day — Dipping day — Bacchantes — A day of mortification for 
the dogs — All Souls — Feast of Constantine — Miraculous fish — Feast 
of serpents — Old Mother March — St. George's : why lambs are sacri- 
ficed — The Panagia — Feast of pigs — Novel sins — The Vampire — 
Fountain spirits — Spirit treasure-guardians — Ghosts of the Turks — 
Our success as exorcists — Notions of a future state . . 36 



X 



CONTEXTS. 



CHAPTER V. 

BULGARIAN SUPERSTITIONS {continued). — MANNERS AND 
CUSTOMS, ETC. 

Witches — Herbalist and poisoner — Prescriptions for a fever — Exorcism 
sought from the Turkish Hodja — Strictness of morals — Family jars — 
Birth and infancy — A suitor and his negotiations — The betrothal — 
The wedding — Dances — The last fashion — Death and burial — 
mourners Page 62 



CHAPTER VI. 

BULGARIAN SONGS. 

Spurious literature — Bulgarian language ■ — Deli Marko's match with the 
Evil One — Philip Junak's boasting — Deli Marko's performance — 
Joanczo Krym Pehlivanczo — Preparations for the encounter — The 
Czar's bear overcome — King Marko — Arrival at Philip the Magyar's 
— A long swim — Combat with a Lomota — The hero's return — 
Seferina rejected — Legends of other races compared 78 



CHAPTER VII. 

EASTERN CHRISTIANITY, AND ITS EFFECTS IN BULGARIA. 

Feasts and fast-days economically considered — The Bulgarian catechized 
— The clergy seek union with Rome — Rejected as unworthy — A curacy 
in Bulgaria — The rector — The parishioners — Fasting — Holy water — 
Extortion of the priests — Reforms suggested 96 



CHAPTER VIII. 

BRIGANDAGE IN THE BALKAN. 

Ignorance of Consuls accounted for — The Gentleman of the Forest — 
Generosity — The common Highwayman — Laissez aller — The Outlaw 
— Justice defeated — A Dogstealer 115 



CONTENTS. 



xi 



CH APT EE IX. 

ORIENTAL COMMERCE. 

A dishonesty which defies competition — A good stroke of business — 
Cent, per cent, for the merchant, but the producer suffers — Privilege of 
a Greek subject — Country agents — A little usury — Rising in life — 
Non-Greek foreign merchants — Base is the slave that pays — A swarm 
of locusts Page 132 



CHAPTEE X. 

THE REAL POSITION OF THE BULGARIAN RAYAH, HIS SYSTEM 
OF AGRICULTURE, ETC. 

Taxes on Agriculture — Neglect of Manure — Ploughing — " Why grow 
more ?" — Reaping — Six weeks' feast — Grain carried — Threshing — 
Vintage — Sheep Farming — Who is the injured party ? . . . . 148 

CHAPTEE XL 

THE EXEMPTION OF THE RAYAH FROM MILITARY SERVICE, 
AND ITS EFFECTS UPON THE TURK. 

Misconception prevailing in Europe — Original land-tenure — Alteration 
in consequence of so-called military reforms — Unequal burden imposed 
on the industry of the Turk by military service — Reform suggested 162 

CHAPTEE XII. 



THE TAXES OF TURKEY. 

Taxes, personal and on property — Inequality of property-tax — Dime and 
its farming — Consequent loss to the revenue — Mode of collection, and 
injury to the cultivator — Pleas against reform — A land-tax suggested 
— Already exists in the case of vineyards — Customs — Corvee — Ex- 
traordinary contributions 174 



xii 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE TENURE OF LANDED PROPERTY; THE TAPOU, THE MIRA, 
THE RIGHT OF FOREIGNERS TO POSSESS LAND. 

Registration of occupancy — Sometimes abused to the fraudulent acquisi- 
tion of title — Undeserved liberality of the Government — Eight of 
pasturage — Leads to loss of production, illegal destruction of timber, 
and winter starvation of cattle — Probable results of a European immi- 
gration — Let the settlers bring their own merchants .. .. Page 186 

CHAPTER XIV. 

WHAT THE BULGARIANS WISH FOR, AND WHAT THEY DO 
NOT WISH FOR. 

Writers in the pay of Eussia — Too much experience of Eussian promises 

— The Bulgarian does not wish what he is supposed to wish — Un- 
ambitious minds — Exceptions 205 

CHAPTER XV. 

TARTAR AND CIRCASSIAN IMMIGRANTS. 

Emigration of Crimean Tartars to Turkey — Broken promises, Eussian and 
Turkish — Appearance and manners — Industry and care in agriculture 

— Circassian immigration — Bad cultivation and poverty — Cattle and 
horse stealing — Hospitality — Abst inence — Circassian encampment — 
Unselfishness — May prove useful as warriors 212 

CHAPTER XVI. 

TURKS OF THE TOWN AND TURKS OF THE COUNTRY. 

A Parisian education — Debut at Constantinople — A veteran — Town 
Turks classified — Family life — Ens do integrity — The roue sent to 
Coventry — Confession of fault — Education — The priest and the 
schoolmaster — Energy — Ballads — Intellectual evenings — A theft 
rebuked ... .. 227 



CONTENTS. 



xiii 



CHAPTER XVII. 

RELATIVE POSITIONS OF TOWN AND COUNTRY. 

Constantinople and many other towns exempt from taxation — Encourage- 
ment to fraudulent commerce — Monomania a la Haussman — Favourit- 
ism towards foreigners — Stamp tax licenses and town property tax — 
" Improvements " at Varna Page 241 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

BRITISH CONSULS AND THE CONSULAR REPORTS. 

Gammoning a Consul — Harrowing tale — The truth discovered — Consular 
entourage — Consular dignity — Bullying a Pasha — The reports — Pre- 
liminary statements by the authors — Consular complaints from Bust- 
chuk, Smyrna, Kustendje, Salonica, and Prevesa (South Albania) — Trial 
of Greek autonomy in the Sporades — Vice-Consul Dupuis (Salonica) — 
Reports from Aleppo, West and East Macedonia, Adrianople, Scutari, 
Beyrout, Jerusalem, Cyprus, and Janina — Consul-General Longworth 
(Belgrade) — Beports from Brussa and Trebizonde 252 

CHAPTER XIX. 

THE CAPITULATIONS. 

Prejudice of foreign residents — Origin of the Capitulations — Privilege of 
a Greek subject — Codes of law innumerable — Justice defeated — Try 
Turkish tribunals 294 

CHAPTER XX. 

THE POLICY OF FOREIGN POWERS IN TURKEY, AND ITS 
EFFECTS. 

Russian agents — Paissian ecclesiastical intrigue — Mysteries of French 
policy. — No-policy of England — Eeligious equality — Attacks on the 
Ulema — Save me from my friends — Colonel Bobrikoff's scientific 
mission — A thankless task — French civilization — French intervention 
— The day of retribution — Educate the Eayah — Considerations of 
expediency — England's true policy . . 305 



xiv 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTEK XXL 

THE ARMY AND THE MILITARY RESOURCES OF TURKEY. 

Bom soldiers — - Exploits in the last war — English generalship and com- 
missariat at Balaklava — French uniforms — Onerous service of the 
militia — Organize volunteers — Expense of the militia — Requisites for 
volunteers and estimated expense — Christian non-combatant corps 

Page 336 

CHAPTEE XXII. 

GOVERNMENT AND GOVERNMENT FUNCTIONARIES, ADMINIS- 
TRATION OF JUSTICE, ETC. ETC. 

Authority of the Sultan — Edict of Gul Hane — The future regenerator 
— Temporizing policy — Palace of the Porte — Palace of a Pasha — A 
mixed assemblage — The Cadis and the Medjliss 355 



CHAPTEK XXIII. 

TURKISH REFORMS AND REFORMERS. 

Races unfit for liberty — Denationalizing reforms — Despatch of Fuad 
Pasha — '"The tax of blood" — Mussulman troops and Christian 
officers — Extreme concessions — A village Medjliss or council — The 
Vilayets ..368 



CHAPTEK XXIV. 

MITHAT PASHA. 

Mithat Pasha's attempted reforms — Suppression of brigandage — Secular- 
ization of education — Inspection of weights and measures — The Agio — 
Lending banks — Orphanages — Recovery from Philorayahism . . 384 



CONTENTS. 



xv 



CHAPTEK XXV. 

THE POLITICAL PARTIES OF TURKEY. 

Bulgarian politicians — The project of independence — The project of auto- 
nomy — Young Turkey — Old Turkey Page 394 

CHAPTEK XXVI. 

COMPARISON BETWEEN THE BULGARIAN RAYAH AND THE 

TURK. 

The cause of humanity — Sham civilization — Bad material in the Piayah 
— Good material in the Turk of the country — Constantinople a school of 
vice — Discipline for the Eayah — Self-defence 405 



APPENDIX. 



Page 

Appendix A 413 

B .. ..' .. 414 

C ib. 

D 417 

E ib. 

F 420 

G- ib. 

H ib. 

I .. .. .. 421 

K 422 

L 423 

M .. .. .. 424 



ME MOB AND A. 



TURKISH MONEY, WEIGHTS, AND MEASURES. 

40 Paras make 1 Piastre (2c?.). 

100 Piastres make 1 Lira (about 18s.). 

The Oke, as a weight is 2f- of a lb. avoirdupois (2*83). 
The Oke as a liquid measure is rather more than an imperial quart. 
Two Yarna Kiles (or eight Constantinople Kiles) of grain are equal to 
one Quarter. 



The Durum is ^ of an acre. 




RECEIVED 



BULGARIA 




CHAPTEK I. 

RAYAH VILLAGES OF BULGARIA. 

First aspect — The village public — An interior — The gipsy quarter — 
Habits of the gipsies — ' Notice to quit.' 

A sandy ravine sloping down to the Lake of Varna be- 
tween ranges of low hills covered with the remains of once 
magnificent forests, some three score of mud houses, or 
rather huts, each surrounded by irregularly shaped en- 
closures of hurdle-work in every stage of dilapidation, two 
or three fountains, many wild cherry, plum, apple, and 
pear trees ; buffaloes, pigs, and innumerable cur dogs of 
every size, wandering about listlessly in search of food. 
Such is the general appearance of our village, and making 
the necessary allowance for difference of position, such is 
the aspect of almost every Kay ah (Christian) village in the 
Bulgarian Balkan. 

If the landscape be left out of the question, these villages 
are not picturesque in themselves, and the prevailing brown- 
ish tint of the houses, blending with that of the cleared 
land around, prevents them being easily seen from a dis- 
tance ; enter one of them, and if you happily succeed in 
avoiding the bites of all the dogs, whom the arrival of a 

B 



2 



RAYAH VILLAGES OF BULGARIA, 



Chap. I. 



stranger induces to pause from their usual avocations, you 
will see a mass of cottages apparently thrown together 
without order or arrangement, built of mud and rudely 
thatched with reeds, upon which great stones are sometimes 
placed (as upon the chalets of Switzerland), to prevent the 
roof being carried away by the wind. Each of the ruinous 
fences encloses a structure resembling a child's Noah's Ark 
immensely magnified and upon raised wooden legs ; this is 
the granary, containing the small amount of wheat or 
Indian corn reserved by the Bulgarian peasant for the use of 
his family. A rude plough unaltered in form since the 
earliest days of agriculture, some equally primitive tools, a 
heap of logs for firewood, a ladder, an ardba or springless 
cart, a few melancholy turkeys, and a brood of famished 
chickens, trying to pick up their day's meal ; these are the 
invariable appendages of every house. 

In the kind of main road which meanders through the 
village are two or three dwellings distinguished from the 
rest by their superior size, and by a pergola in front which 
affords shade from the sun or shelter from the rain : these 
are the shops of the Bakah or public-house keepers, and 
before the door of each is collected a knot of men, sitting 
cross-legged on the ground, occupied in drinking, smoking, 
and discussing their own and their neighbours' affairs, 
very much as if they were Englishmen in England, except 
that, as the drugged wine produces its effect, a dispute 
arises, and they start to their feet abusing one another with 
all the facile eloquence of Slavonic vituperation, and draw 
their knives with more than Italian gesticulation. The 
Italian coltellata is, however, seldom given in these public 
quarrels, for woman, the universal peacemaker, appears 



Chap. I. 



THE VILLAGE PUBLIC. 



3 



upon the scene, armed with persuasive words and a thick 
stick. But though her verbal or manual arguments may 
stay the impending strife, she too often shares the proverbial 
fate of ' those who in quarrels interpose,' for even here the 
Age of Chivalry is past, and wives are as soundly thrashed 
in Bulgaria as in Lancashire or Clerkenwell. There is 
another reason which prevents these drunken quarrels from 
ending in bloodshed upon the spot ; the Kayah, instead of 
trusting his cause to the jugement de Dieu as manifested in 
a duel with knives, prefers to stab his adversary at an 
advantage, or to adopt the more silent vengeance of poison, 
one always safe in a country where the police, seldom 
seen outside the walls of the towns, is looked upon by the 
Christian as his natural enemy and therefore rarely ap- 
pealed to, and where post-mortem examinations have yet to 
be introduced with the many other civilizing agents from 
France and England, which are, as the newspapers inform 
us, soon to raise the standard of Kayah education and 
morality to a par with that of the Nations of the West.* 

This main road is also the favourite resort of those village 
pigs who are not out on the pasture land, and of dogs, who 
find a constant supply of food in the enormous heaps of 
manure which, unused and unvalued, seem to be preserved 
merely for the purpose of feeding pigs and of breeding 
fever. 

Near the village, or within it, stands the cheshmeh or 
fountain, an erection of stone, or occasionally, though rarely, 
of marble, seldom showing any architectural taste, or even 
attempt at decoration. It is usually a piece of wall three 

* See Appendix A. 

B 2 



4 



RAYAH VILLAGES OF BULGARIA. 



Chap. I. 



or four feet high and as many yards long, with a wooden 
spout, from which the water flows into a trough and thence 
trickles away to form a vagrant stream for the wandering- 
ducks and geese. Around this spring are several women 
and girls, each with a wooden yoke, something like that of 
a London milkman, supporting a couple of copper pails ; and 
as they wait for their turn at the fountain they indulge in 
the gossip inseparable from a meeting of the fair sex, 
whether in the Balkans, or on the chairs of Rotten Row, or 
the Botanical Gardens. 

In the early morning a dozen of arabas drawn by oxen 
or buffaloes and heavily laden with firewood for sale at 
Varna, four hours distant, pass slowly through with their 
drivers. During the daytime the village, if it is not one of 
the too numerous feast days of the Greek calendar, appears 
deserted, except by women and children, and the habitues of 
the dram shop ; but as evening approaches the men return 
from the forest or the field, and oxen, pigs, sheep, and goats, 
arrive from their pasturage under the guardianship of the 
chobans, or herdsmen. 

The houses of the Rayahs resemble one another so strongly 
throughout Bulgaria that to describe one is to give a fair . 
idea of all : few of them rise above the ground floor, the , 
exceptions being perhaps not more than one in each village, 
although a taste for more pretentious domestic architecture 
appears to be slowly developing itself; their size of course .. 
varies in accordance with the means of the owners, a family 
of six or eight individuals often living and sleeping together 
in one small room not above eight feet square and six high ; 
but hardly any houses have more than three rooms, even 
amongst the wealthiest peasants. There is generally a ' 



Chap. I. 



AN INTERIOR. 



5 



verandah in front of the cottage, upon which each apartment 
opens separately, instead of communicating with the others. 
The principal apartment is used as kitchen, parlour, and 
bedroom for the heads of the family, and contains (in a well- 
to-do house) an array of tin, copper, and earthenware utensils 
for household use, two or three wooden boxes gaudily 
painted with impossible flowers, in which repose the gala 
costumes of the family, and on a shelf are huge rolls of rush 
matting, and coarse woollen rugs for bed and bedclothes. 
Plastered into the Avail is a little circular mirror two or 
three inches in diameter ; and huddled away into a corner, or 
placed in a conspicuous position, according to the piety 
or indifferentism of the family, are the Eikones or pictured 
saints of the Greek Church, a roughly-painted wooden 
triptych, bought from some travelling Russian pedlar, and 
representing a dusky Madonna and child flanked by St. 
George and St. Demetrius. In front of this picture is often 
placed an oil-lamp, but we have never yet seen it burning. 
All about the room are hung on the walls and from the 
rafters odds and ends of every kind : dried meat, skins of 
fox or badger, waiting for the arrival of the skin merchant, 
a rude hand-loom and some bales of wool; the sofra, a small 
wooden table standing about six inches high and serving 
for the family meal ; the tekneh, a wooden dish shaped like 
a butcher's tray without handles and used for making bread ; 
an old pistol, a gun, some pieces of bacon, a string of onions, 
and all the broken crockery of the household. The other 
rooms are usually bare, and serve as a sleeping apartment 
for the juniors, no separation of the sexes being considered 
necessary. 

Bedsteads are unknown ; a mat is placed upon the 



6 



EAYAH VILLAGES OF BULGARIA. 



Chap. I. 



floor, the peasant thrusts his sheepskin cap over his 
eyes, makes the Greek sign of the cross, covers himself 
up with a rug or two, and goes to sleep without further 
preparation. 

It is one of the most curious peculiarities of the Kayah 
homestead, that on a moonless night you may pass within 
fifty yards of a large village without knowing of its existence, 
did not the barking of countless dogs warn you of your 
vicinity to human habitations. Even in the coldest winter 
no cheerful gleam of fire seen through lighted windows 
promises shelter and hospitality ; all is dark and gloomy as 
the night, for the Bulgarian cottages are distinguished by 
the entire absence of windows or of any substitute for them, 
the only media of light and ventilation being the large 
chimney and the chinks and crannies of the ill-joined door. 
The reason assigned for this is the universal dread of 
brigands who might come at night and fire through the 
windows (if they existed) at the sleeping peasants. Abdar- 
rachman Pasha, a late governor of Varna, recently issued an 
order that in future no houses should be built without 
windows ; but the villagers, whilst complying with the letter 
of the law, have artfully contrived to evade its spirit by 
making the obligatory " window " a mere peephole in the 
Avail, not large enough to pass the hand through, and even 
this is kept stopped up with rags, in order to prevent the 
possible intrusion of fresh air or a gun barrel. The simple 
expedient of strong wooden shutters seems never to have 
occurred to them, though they might see examples of it in 
any Turkish village. 

The atmosphere produced by these arrangements and by 
the presence of a dozen persons who do not take off their 



Chap. I. 



THE GIPSY QUARTER. 



7 



under-clothing four times during the year, and who are 
moreover redolent of garlic and reiki, is not agreeable to the 
stranger in Bulgaria; for the Kayah, like the negro, 
diffuses around him a peculiar aromatic odour by no means 
Sabsean, which makes one feel inclined to apply to the 
whole race Dante's description of Geryon, 

" Ecco colei che tut to il mondo appuzza ; " 
more especially as this aroma extends itself in some subtle 
manner even to the cookery, so that it is easy for any one 
who has eaten food with both Christian and Mussulman to 
distinguish both by taste and smell the victuals of the one 
Creed from those of the other. 

After what we have just said about the unfrequent changes 
of clothes and linen, it is not surprising that, as a corollary, 
parasitic insects of every variety abound in every individual 
and in every house. 

Our village lately possessed a kind of suburb, the 
Chinguine Mahalli or Gipsy Quarter, which, however, was 
last June wantonly burned to the ground and its inhabitants 
turned adrift. These gipsies, following the usual custom of 
their people in conforming outwardly to the State Eeligion 
of the country in which they reside, profess Islamism, 
though they never enter a mosque, and otherwise observe 
but few of the precepts enjoined by the Koran: their 
women (like those of the Tartars) do not even wear the 
yashmak, the veil which should always screen Mahommedan 
female beauty or ugliness from the gaze of the too curious 
stranger. 

Amongst themselves the gipsies speak Eomany, as well as 
Turkish; their huts differ but little externally from those 
of the Bulgarian, except that they are usually smaller and 



8 RAYAH VILLAGES OF BULGARIA. Chap. I. 

have no verandah, but though they are perhaps more 
squalid in outward appearance, the interior offers a pleasing 
contrast to that of their Christian fellow subjects by its 
neatness and cleanliness. 

Our Chinguines exercised the universal gipsy trades of 
begging, basket-making, tinkering, and forging iron, to 
which the Bulgarians said that they added in an especial 
degree that of thieving, but this accusation is probably due 
in a great measure to the fact that two of a trade never 
agree, as in all our dealings with the gipsies we found them 
quite as honest (to say the least) as their Rayah neighbours. 
Every morning the gipsy women, furnished each with a big 
sack and a long stick to keep off the dogs, who seem to bear 
them an especial antipathy, start in couples upon an expe- 
dition to beg or buy flour and other food amongst the 
villagers, who occasionally give it to them without payment, 
not from any motive of charity, but because they are to a 
certain extent afraid of them, having a deeply-rooted belief 
in their power to cast spells, cause rain, and other beneficent 
or maleficent attributes. The men remain at home mending- 
pots and pans, tinning copper vessels, and doing all the iron 
work required by the village, whilst the children blow the 
bellows, or accompany the cattle to their pasturage. 

Less nomadic than those of Western Europe, the Turkish 
gipsies seldom, however, settle in one village for more than 
three or four years, and the voluntary or forced migration of 
a tribe in search of fresh quarters is one of the most pictur- 
esque sights to be seen in Bulgaria. A long string of oxen, 
buffaloes, and horses (which we will hope have not been 
stolen), transports the tents and cooking utensils of the 
voyagers, as well as the very old men and young children, 



Chap. I. 



HABITS OF THE GIPSIES. 



9 



the former of whom are often magnificent models for a St. 
Jerome or St. John in Patmos, the latter, dusky monkey-like 
little imps naked as when they were born : by their side 
march the younger men and women clad in rags and tatters 
of every hue, and carrying in their arms infants, poultry, and 
new-born calves or colts. The gipsy women when young are 
often exceedingly beautiful, in the style generally considered 
in England as ' Eastern,' with dark complexions and black 
almond-shaped eyes, but their beauty fades rapidly, and at 
thirty years they are already old, wrinkled, and hideous. 

As soon as one of these processions halts in or near a 
village, tents are pitched, fires lighted, and foraging parties 
organised, whilst the Bulgarians, at the approach of their 
unwelcome visitors, keep a close watch upon their poultry, 
pigs, and other moveable goods, for though the CJiinguine 
may to a certain extent respect the property of the village 
in which he is settled, no scruples restrain him from profit- 
ing by any waifs and strays which may come in his way 
during a march. 

The life of the gipsy in Turkey is very much that of a 
Pariah : disliked and despised by the Turk, hated by the 
Christian, he yet earns his living by harder labour than 
that of the latter, whilst his only crime is petty larceny 
amongst a people with whom roguery is the rule, honesty 
the exception, and in villages where you will be calmly told, 
as an interesting piece of information, that the woman, 
Tranitza or Kalousfika, whom you see quietly chatting with 
her neighbours, poisoned her first husband in order to marry 
her second. You ask, " But was she not punished ? " and the 
answer is a shrug of the shoulders and " Whose business is 
it ? " 



10 



KAYAH VILLAGES OF BULGARIA. 



Chap. I. 



The gipsies are allowed to settle in their villages by 
Mussulmans and Christians, but are usually much worse off 
amongst the latter than with the former. 

A relation of the way in which the Chinguines of Derekuoi 
were treated by the villagers will give a fair sample of the 
hardships they endure without a chance of redress ; they do 
not complain, for what would be the use of a Mussulman 
gipsy in Bulgaria complaining to a Turkish Pasha against 
the immaculate pets of Eussia ? 

The gipsies, in addition to the profits of their handicraft, 
live in a great measure upon the produce of their scanty 
herds and the sale of milk and butter in the towns; but 
having no fields they are compelled to buy from the Kayah 
flour for themselves and corn for their cattle during the 
winter ; our villagers exacted from them a price far exceed- 
ing the value of the articles they sold — threepence for an 
oke of flour instead of twopence, and one shilling and four- 
pence for a measure of barley instead of tenpence — and 
received payment either in money or in labour : in the latter 
case their profits were easily increased by a judicious abate- 
ment of the price asked by the gipsy. 

Thus during the winter the Chinguines were a positive 
pecuniary advantage to the villagers ; but when spring came 
and their herds found fodder in the pasture lands, they had 
more milk and butter to sell at Varna, realized more money, 
and were therefore less dependent upon the village. The 
Kayahs then called an assembly of the notables, in which it 
was decided that as the gipsies' cattle were then feeding upon 
their grazing land without paying for the privilege,* and as 

* It must be remembered that the Rayahs themselves pay nothing for 
the enormous acreage of pasture land which they claim and profit by. 



Chap. I. 



< NOTICE TO QUIT.' 



11 



they bought but little from the village, it would be well to 
give them a hint to quit. 

This hint was conveyed in the most delicate manner by 
burning their houses over their heads one night, without 
any previous notice, and the poor gipsies left ; but at the 
approach of winter many of them returned and asked leave 
to settle on another spot near the village. As winter is the 
profitable season to the inhabitants of Derekuoi, this request 
was kindly granted, and we have again a colony of gipsies, 
who in the summer will probably be evicted by some process 
equally summary with that of last year. 

Such is an instance of the treatment shown by Christians 
to Mussulmans, of whom they are not personally afraid ; had 
the Kayahs been the victims of a similar outrage inflicted by 
Turks, what a glorious theme it would have afforded to the 
friends of the Oriental Christian or the enemies of Turkey ; 
but who in Europe fights the battles of the Mussulman ? 

Shortly after the occurrence of this act of arson, the 
Authors mentioned the fact to the then Governor of Yarna : 
he replied that he could do nothing, having received standing 
orders from Constantinople to favour the Kayahs in every 
possible manner. 



12 



RAYAH VILLAGES OF BULGARIA. 



Chap. II. 



CHAPTER II. 

bay ah villages of BULGAKIA. — [Continued.) 

The traveller's reception — Family meal — Bulgarian features and physique 
— Ordinary costume — Holy day costume — Gagaous or mixed race — 
A hard bed — The traveller's reckoning — Bulgarian charges — Hospi- 
tality of the Turks. 

If you arrive as a traveller at a Rayah village where you 
have no aquaintances, and you do not wish to put up at the 
Khan or inn (supposing that there be one, for inns are few 
and far between in the interior country of Bulgaria), your 
proper course is to send for the Kyaia, an official who in 
some measure unites the duties of town-crier and police 
magistrate, show him the firman or government recommenda- 
tion with which you are doubtless furnished, and tell him to 
assign you a lodging for the night. A small bakshish will 
ensure you a billet upon the most comfortable house in the 
village; you present yourself and are received with the 
invariable formula of salutation, Khosh geldin, ' well come,' to 
which you answer Khosh bouldouk, 'well found,' give your 
horse to one of the sons of the house to look after, or, better 
still, see yourself that he is well cared for, and make your 
way into the chief room. 

The place of honour on the mat nearest the fire is offered 
to you, and your host commences the conversation by 
asking where you come from, where you are going, why you 
are going there, whether you will come back the same way, 



Chap. II. THE TRAVELLER'S RECEPTION. 



13 



what is your trade or occupation (the mere tourist looms in 
the future of Bulgaria, but has not yet marked these 
regions for his own), and a number of similar questions, for 
the Bulgarian is naturally inquisitive, and Franks are as 
rare in the interior as fat fowls. Your gun — for of course 
you are not foolhardy enough to travel without one — is 
naturally much admired, and its price asked and wondered 
at, as here no one thinks of giving more than three pounds 
for the quaint weapon used by the peasant ; if it is a breech- 
loader you may even be requested to make a present of it. 
Meanwhile the lady of the house has made a big, flat, round 
loaf of bread, which is put to bake on the hearth and 
covered up with the hot ashes of the wood fire, and if it is 
near the hour of the family meal you may, at your choice, 
order a massacre of skeleton poultry, procure some eggs, 
possibly even a little milk and butter, and cook your own 
dinner ; or you may dine with the family. If you prefer the 
latter course, the sofra is brought out and placed on the 
floor, with a mass of sour crout floating in grease and 
abundantly flavoured with garlic, and before each person is 
placed a large hunch of the hot half-baked bread ; none of 
the females of the family, with the rare exception of the 
mother, are allowed to take part in this repast, but wait for 
their meal until the men have finished. 

As a stranger, you will probably be offered the refinement 
of a wooden spoon to assist you in eating, but the usual 
custom is to dip your fingers into the dish, extract as large 
a morsel as possible, throw your head well back, and push 
the food down your throat as far as you can : if you are very 
particular, you may wipe your fingers upon your bread 
between each mouthful, but this excess of delicacy is by no 



14 



RAYAH VILLAGES OF BULGARIA. 



Chap. II. 



means considered necessary, and may even be taken as a 
tacit reproach to the rest of the company. A jug of wine is 
constantly passed round and replenished from one of the 
large barrels standing in the verandah, and before each 
draught the sign of the Cross is made, to prevent the devil 
entering into the drinker with the wine. 

A dish of white cheese made from the milk of goats and 
sheep concludes the repast, and when it is finished you 
offer your tobacco and cigarette-paper (which even in the 
country have almost entirely superseded the traditional 
chibouque) to the assembled circle ; the villagers who have 
heard of your arrival drop in, salute you with Khosh geldin, 
and either gaze upon you with mute and awe-struck 
wonder, or subject you to the same cross-examination 
which you have previously undergone. The Eayah is 
always bi-lingual, and if you speak only one of his 
languages that one will probably be Turkish : if however 
you understand also Komaic, or the Bulgarian dialect of 
Slavonic, you will certainly be amused, though perhaps 
not flattered, by the various remarks made upon and con- 
cerning you, which of course are supposed to be unin- 
telligible to their object. 

When curiosity is satiated or exhausted a lull takes 
place in the conversation, which has always been confined 
to the men present, the women knowing their inferior social 
position and preserving a discreet silence, at least before 
strangers ; being new to the country you will probably take 
this opportunity to note the general features of dress and 
appearance of your entertainers. 

Strongly but heavily built, with broad shoulders and 
round back, a walk like that of a bear, coarse and blunted- 



Chap. II. 



ORDINAKY COSTUME. 



15 



looking features, a heavy moustache covering the sensual 
lips, a beard shaven once a week, and little twinkling eyes, 
which, whilst always avoiding to meet your own, give a 
general appearance of animal cunning to the face — you 
will hardly say, notwithstanding the prejudices in favour 
of the interesting Christians of the East which you have 
brought with you from Europe, that this long exiled off- 
shoot is a prepossessing type of the great Slavonic Na- 
tionality which All-Mother Eussia is so fondly eager to 
receive into her bosom and mould into one mighty and 
harmonious whole. 

The dress of the men admits of but little variety, being 
always sombre in colour, a circumstance which has given 
rise to the epithet of Kara (black) Giaour occasionally 
bestowed upon them by the Turks, who are fond of light 
tints in their costume ; it consists of a linen shirt, home- 
spun, a short loose jacket open in front and of dark brown, 
or black, thick rough cloth, a waistcoat and trousers of the 
same colour and materials, the latter made excessively full 
to the knee, from which downwards it fits close to the leg. 
Bound the waist is a red sash of many yards in length, 
which serves instead of pockets, and contains a knife, flint 
and steel, tobacco and other necessary articles : the cap, 
round and brimless, is made from sheepskin dyed black or 
brown. Boots are a rare but much coveted and expensive 
luxury, being only worn by the young swells of the village 
on the occasion of some great feast, when they have par- 
ticular reasons for appearing to the best advantage in the 
presence of the assembled damsels: far from the seaport 
towns they are perhaps entirely unknown, and even in those 
| localities where a pair is possessed by some Bulgarian 



16 



RAYAH VILLAGES OF BULGARIA. 



Chap. II. 



Brummel it is regarded more as an ornament than an 
article to be used whilst walking, for the owner generally 
walks barefooted, carrying his tasselled boots over his 
shoulder, to the house where they are to be displayed, 
where he puts them on with great pride, and when the 
festivity is over, returns home with them slung in the same 
manner. 

The Bulgarian substitute for boots is the charrek, a species 
of sandal much resembling the Scotch brogue, or that worn 
by the Calabrian peasant; it is made of cow-hide or pig- 
skin, rudely sewn into the shape of a slipper, and worn 
over rolls of thick flannel in which the foot and ancle are 
swathed ; the strings which fasten it are strips of leather, 
or a cord made of twisted goat's hair, or frorn the bark of 
the elder-tree immersed in water until all but the fibrous 
parts has decayed. The charrek is warm in winter, cool in 
summer, and very comfortable for walking, except in muddy 
weather or snow, when it is impossible to avoid slipping ; its 
great disadvantage is that it takes some minutes to put on, 
which time is however generally economized by the Bul- 
garians never taking it off until the sole is worn out, a 
period of perhaps two months. 

The women's dress is usually simple, except on feast 
days, when they display a perfectly bewildering amount of 
embroidery ; it consists of a linen shirt, a boddice, a cloth 
jacket, and a skirt of some dark coloured calico or other 
stuff which descends to* within a few inches of the ancle. 
On the head is worn a little cap of cardboard covered with 
red cloth, something like a fez in shape, but much smaller, 
and upon it are sewn coins of silver, gold, or silver gilt, 
amongst which may sometimes be found rare antiques 



Chap. II. HOLYDAY COSTUME. 17 

discovered in ploughing the fields: this cap, being worn 
from earliest infancy, and fitting very tightly upon the 
head, gives the skull a peculiar and unsightly conical form, 
which is however unnoticeable so long as the cap and hand- 
kerchief are not removed ; this process is just the reverse 
of that adopted by the North American tribes of Flat-head 
Indians. Their other ornaments consist of a necklace com- 
posed of coins, bracelets of silvered-copper, or glass, and 
ear-rings of pierced money. If a girl is engaged to be 
married, she generally wears a girdle of silver, or more 
often white metal, with a great clasp ornamented with glass 
rubies or emeralds, which is presented to her by her be- 
trothed, amongst other gifts. 

Except when dancing, and not always even then, slippers 
are scarcely ever worn by the women, who seem to prefer 
walking barefooted to the fountain or even outside the 
village. 

If the day of your arrival is a feast, you will have the 
opportunity of seeing all the marriageable young ladies in 
the full blaze of their toilette. Every spot of their linen 
which can be seen is embroidered in colours, at the neck, the 
hem, the boddice, the sleeves ; their socks are of open work, 
and supplemented by knitted or embroidered leggings ; their 
jacket is of cloth, lined with fox-skin, and embroidered with 
fur; and their necks, heads, and arms covered with the whole 
contents of their jewel-boxes ; their aprons too are woven in 
bright colours and patterns resembling strongly those of 
the J apanese, but which produce a picturesque effect ; even 
their handkerchiefs have stripes of colour or of gold and 
silver tinsel interwoven with them. All this finery is put 
on for the village dance which on every feast day com- 

c 



18 



RAYAH VILLAGES OF BULGAKIA. 



Chap. II. 



mences soon after sunrise, and is continued with little inter- 
ruption till nearly midnight, unless the state of the weather 
forbids it, as it always takes place in the open air. 

The evening dress of the men is by no means so elaborate 
as that of the ladies; the Kayah exquisite puts an addi- 
tional, though unnecessary, coat of grease upon the already 
unctuous masses of his flowing hair, changes his sheepskin 
ehaplca for a little red cap, in which he sticks, if flowers are 
procurable, a bunch or two of roses or snow-drops, slips on a 
kind of flannel legging with a little blue braid upon it over 
the dirty flannels of his cliarreks, and is ready for the ball. 

The costume of the women, as described above, strongly 
resembles that of the Polish and Kussian peasantry, but it is 
only to be seen in those villages where the inhabitants are of 
pure Slavonic blood. Along the coast of the Black Sea the 
Bulgarian is of a very mixed race, partly Vlach or Walachian, 
partly Greek, and partly even Yenetian and Genoese ; the 
latter quartering being gained by the long-continued presence 
of Genoese and Yenetian garrisons in that part of the country. 
They are characterized by the genuine Slav as Gagaous, an 
untranslatable term but involving a great amount of con- 
tempt.* They speak besides Turkish, either a corrupt dia- 
lect of Bulgarian (which is itself only a dialect) or a very 
impure Komaic, perhaps even all three languages in a less 
or greater degree : some of their words are even Italian, and 
show how firm was the hold once gained upon the East by 



* The full-blooded Bulgarian, czisto Bulgar, has a saying which is not 
complimentary to the mixed race, it is as follows : — 

Nie Syrb, nie Turczyn, nie Bulgar, nie Wlah, nie Ozlak — Gaganz. 
Neither Serb, nor Turk, nor Bulgarian, nor Wallachian, nor a man ; but a 
Gagaous. 

j 



Chap. II. 



A HARD BED. 



L9 



the trading Eepublics of Italy. Amongst these the tradi- 
tional Slavonic costume has disappeared as far as concerns 
the women, who on grand occasions adorn themselves with 
an utter want of taste, and ignorance of the contrasting 
effects of colours ; but little embroidery is to be seen, their 
ornaments and head-dress are the same, but their dresses are 
of silk, and a flaming red skirt is worn with a yellow silk 
jacket and pink boddice. 

When your examination is finished, you will probably find 
no new topic of conversation, and express a wish to go to 
bed, upon which the visitors take their leave by degrees; 
some of the members of the family are turned out, and you 
find yourself with only some half dozen sleeping companions, 
male and female, young and old. You select the place 
nearest the fire, as in winter it is the warmest, and in summer 
the coolest ; take your pillow and a couple of rugs, and 
retire to rest as best you can, whilst the others just turn in 
as they are, curl themselves up almost into a circle, and fall 
asleep in five minutes. Bulgarian habits are matutinal, so 
you are awakened early in the morning, and probably feel 
your hip-bones and your head rather sore from the respective 
hardness of the mud floor and rag-stuffed pillow. A draught 
or two of wine, and a little bread and crout, prepare you for 
your onward journey ; you order your horse to be brought 
round, and you ask the head of the family how much there 
is to pay. 

For the first time or so, you make this inquiry with the 
hope that you will be answered " Nothing at all," and with 
the intention of giving a sum at least double what you have 
cost your entertainers, but a few days' experience of travelling 
amongst the Eayah soon dispels any such fond illusion. 

c 2 



20 



RAYAH VILLAGES OF BULGARIA. 



Chap. II. 



The wine you have drunk, the chickens you have cooked, the 
bread you have eaten, the corn for your horse — all is counted 
up with an accuracy of mental arithmetic highly creditable 
to the financial abilities of the Christian peasant: if your host 
is not avaricious he only multiplies the sum total of the 
value by three, and informs you how much your food comes 
to ; for the trouble you have given, and for your bed, you are 
expected to pay a bakshish or present, the amount of which 
is left to yourself. It is no use, or at least very little, to 
grumble, so you pay and go to the door. If your bakshish 
has come up to the expectations of your host's wife, you are 
presented at the door with a stirrup-cup of wine, gratis, your 
horse is held as you mount, and you ride away amidst a 
chorus of ' oughourolaj 'bon voyage,' from the assembled 
family. If, however, the bill for your food has put you in a 
bad humour, and sensibly diminished your voluntary offering, 
you may depart without wine or good wishes or any one to 
assist your exit. Your host, in the mean time, is rejoicing 
that he has managed to profit so largely by a guest billetted 
upon him, and by whose advent he will probably escape the 
lodgment of the next two soldiers who come to the village, 
who would pay him only the Government allowance, and eat 
four times as much as the Frank stranger. To explain this, 
it is necessary to say that a Bouyortou or Firman from the 
Government, which authorizes the traveller to claim a lodo-ino- 
for the night from the Kayaia (who to his other offices unites 
that of billet-master), puts the bearer in the position of a 
Government officer, and therefore he is only obliged to give 
the regulation tariff for his accommodation, which is about 
tenpence per diem, and is entitled for that sum to demand 
any food that is to be had in the house, and to consume as 



Chap. II. HOSPITALITY OF THE TUBES. 21 

much of it as lie likes. The different houses are put on a 
roster for the billets, and therefore the arrival of a foreigner 
who pays liberally, instead of a soldier or zaptieh (police- 
man) who pay next to nothing, is a positive godsend. 

The Authors were once charged, in a Christian house of a 
village in Koumelia, the sum of about 15 shillings for nine 
pennyworth of flour, a pint of milk, and a half dozen of eggs. 

Perhaps you are annoyed by finding the auri sacra fames 
where you had expected patriarchal simplicity — especially in 
many matters — and you begin to believe that the boasted 
hospitality of the East is but a mirage which disappears as 
you approach the spot where it ought to be ; next evening, 
however, you stop at a Turkish village. Here no presen- 
tation of your bouyortou is necessary, the fact of your being 
a stranger is sufficient to ensure you food, shelter, and a 
hearty welcome. You ask your way to the Mussafir odasi 
(guest's apartment), a cottage built for the reception of 
travellers, whom the Mussulman is of course prevented from 
receiving into the sacred precincts of his own home. If the 
village contains any rich men, these will each have a little 
house within the enclosure of their court, but apart from 
their own dwelling which contains the inviolable Harem, and 
to one of these you will be directed ; if the village is poor (and 
Mussulman villages are for good reasons, which will be 
given hereafter, poorer than those of the Rayah) there is at 
least a Mussafir odasi belonging in common to all the 
villagers. We will take the latter case ; you enter a little 
room, kept scrupulously clean, and furnished with matting 
and a few cushions; shortly after your arrival some one 
comes in with coffee and the apparatus for making it, salutes 
yipu, and in a minute or two offers you a tiny cup of coffee 



22 



EAYAH VILLAGES OF BULGAEIA. 



Chap. II. 



made as few but Turks, and Turks of the country, can make 
it. Then other villagers come in, each with an offering of 
bread, cheese, cream, buttermilk, lentils, honey, eggs — in 
short, to use their own words as they excuse the poverty of 
the meal, ' what God has given to them.' No questions are 
asked until you have eaten and are satisfied, and are then 
put in a tone far different from the Prussian-frontier manner 
of the Bulgarians ; no one who has mixed with the true Turks 
— those of the provinces, uncontaminated by a sojourn at 
Pera or Paris — can help being struck with their innate tact, 
refinement, and gentlemanliness. 

The Khodja (schoolmaster) and the Imam (priest), the 
two most respected characters of the village, come in to see 
you, you begin to ask about the shooting in the neigh- 
bourhood, and as the conversation turns upon the favourite 
topic of arms and weapons, you find that your friends 
occasionally see a Turkish newspaper, have heard of the 
Ziindnadelgewehr, and have even a very fair idea of its 
construction. If you touch upon political subjects, you will 
be surprised at the just appreciation which is shewn of 
Turkish Home Policy, and you will hear remedial measures 
suggested by mere peasants, which, if adopted by the Imperial 
Government, would do more to restore Turkey to the position 
which her almost boundless internal resources should enable 
her again to occupy, than a century of the patent nostrums 
advocated by Occidental Cabinets, whose only knowledge of 
the East is confined to the foreign quarters of its large towns. 

In the morning you are offered a frugal breakfast, and of 
course coffee ; when you leave, no payment will be asked for, 
and if you offer money in return for the kindness you have 
received, you will almost insult your entertainers ; the only 



Chap. IT. 



HOSPITALITY OF THE TURKS. 



28 



way of compensating them is to give some small sum 
towards the maintenance of the mosque or the school, and 
even this may not be accepted if it be given undisguisedly 
as payment for hospitality. 

It is but fair to add, in conclusion, that although the 
Authors, in a rather extensive series of rambles amongst the 
villages of Bulgaria, have never found a Mussulman who 
would accept payment from his guests for anything which 
his house afforded — of course if they sent for any luxury 
which he did not possess, trad he was a poor man, he would 
take back the money he had paid — they have met with one 
instance of a Christian peasant who at first refused money, 
but even he finally took it without very much pressing. 



24 



ROADS AND MEANS OF COMMUNICATION. Chap. III. 



CHAPTER III. 

KOADS AND MEANS OF COMMUNICATION. 

Devious routes — Repair or go round ? — Difficult locomotion — Employes 
classified — Mithat Pasha's road — Worse than none — A remedy sug- 
gested — Varna railroad — Postal irregularities — Telegraph clerks. 

Koads, at least as the term is understood in England, are, 
to use a hackneyed phrase, conspicuous by their absence in 
Bulgaria. The means of difficult and tardy communication 
which form their substitutes, appear usually to be but 
slight enlargements of the tracks through cover made by 
wandering sheep, buffaloes, and horses : at least such is the 
only theory which explains their otherwise unaccountable 
twistings, and turnings, and deviations from the natural 
line of tracing. Such an obstacle as a fallen tree or project- 
ing branch is even more insurmountable by the Bulgarian 
than by the buffalo, and to avoid it he drives his araba by a 
detour of two or three hundred yards through the thinnest 
part of the adjacent cover, rejoining further on what we 
must call the main road, until some similar accident forces 
him again to leave it. That the fallen tree might be 
removed by the axe, or the projecting branch cut away by 
the same instrument (one which the peasant here is never 
without), never occurs to him : superfluous labour, or what 
he regards as such, is distasteful to him, time is of no 
importance ; his wood or wheat are always sure of a sale at 
their destination ; if he cannot arrive at Varna before sunset, 
when the gates are closed, he can always bivouac in the 



Chap. III. 



DIFFICULT LOCOMOTION. 



25 



forest, burning down three or four pounds worth of the 
Padischah's timber to warm himself; his buffaloes or oxen 
will eat leaves if they can get them, dry sticks if nothing 
else is to be found, so why should he trouble himself with 
twenty minutes' work ? 

Ten hours' doing nothing is infinitely preferable, and 
what matter whether he ploughs or sows his fields 
that day or the next? — there is time enough for every- 
thing. 

The consequences of this system, or want of system, are 
that any two miles of the best roads hereabouts would 
smash any carriage with springs ever built in western 
Europe, and break down the strongest English cart: the 
arabas of the country, being moving forests on wheels, suffer 
less, and if one of the roughly squared trees which compose 
them is broken, the forest is everywhere, and then the 
Kayah has no alternative but to use his axe. In summer 
these paths, from the rapid growth of grass and shrubs, are 
hardly to be distinguished from the cover through which 
they pass ; in winter they are a succession of iron-bound 
hillocks and ditches, of treacherous snow-drifts or of 
unfathomable mud ; when this last is predominant it takes 
five hours to accomplish a distance of twelve miles from our 
village to Varna, even on horseback: a cart will probably 
require an hour more. Araba travelling by these roads is 
as may be easily imagined, far from pleasant, one side of 
the vehicle being frequently two feet higher than the other : 
the Bulgarians, however, will not abandon a favourite path 
for such a trifling difference of elevation between the 
borders of the road, and as long as they can prevent their 
carts tilting over by hanging on to the uppermost side, they 



26 ROADS AND MEANS OF COMMUNICATION. Chap. III. 



are content : when this is no longer sufficient they strike 
out a new path. To a stranger in the Balkan who is riding 
from one village to another by a road new to him, and who 
is guided merely by his general knowledge of the direction 
in which his destination lies, it is very puzzling to find 
some six or seven paths spreading out like a fan, and 
apparently leading in very different directions : every one of 
them bears marks of being lately used by horses or waggons, 
and the choice of one out of the many seems a very hap- 
hazard proceeding ; but whichever one he selects is tolerably 
sure to be right, for all of them, after describing innumer- 
able curves, which, however they may take a more or less 
vitiated line of beauty and grace, are certainly not influenced 
by any scientific tracing, fall again into the main path, in 
which the ruts have become a little too deep, or the rain has 
formed a marsh, or a buffalo has died and left his skeleton, 
which the dogs and wolves have not yet had time to clear 
away. 

Whilst speaking of the roads in these provinces, it would 
be unfair not to allude to the Chaussee from Eustchuk to 
Varna, constructed by Mithat Pasha, the Governor of the 
Vilayet of the Danube. 

Mithat Pasha is an intelligent man, and what is still rarer 
amongst the governing class of Turkey, an honest man ; but he 
has fallen into the common error of mistaking effect for 
cause, and wishes to introduce into the country under his 
rule as high a state of civilisation as now exists in France or 
England, forgetting that Pome was not built in a day, and 
that, to make a Duke of Wellington out of a South Sea 
Islander, something more is necessary than a cocked hat and 
a pair of spurs. The choice of Mithat Pasha by the govern- 



Chap. in. 



EMPLOYES CLASSIFIED. 



27 



ment of the Sublime Porte is by no means a bad one, and is, 
indeed, a step in the right direction ; but one man alone, 
especially an Oriental who has only been able to view the 
surface and effects of the European Institutions which a 
certain school of Turkish politicians regard as the only 
panacea for the sufferings of Turkey, can do but little, how- 
ever excellent his intentions may be. In Turkey, the class 
of minor officials is of the very worst kind ; such is the entour- 
age of Mithat Pasha, and such he knows it to be, whilst he is 
powerless to remedy the evil. These subordinate employe's, 
whether Armenians, Turks, or Greeks, may be divided into 
three heads : — 1st, merely stupid ; 2nd, stupid and rapacious ; 
3rd, cunning and rapacious ; to do the Greeks justice, they 
are seldom wanting in a species of cleverness, and form the 
majority of the third category. Any foreigner who has 
enough money to bribe his way to the highest authority, and 
enough impudence to promise great things for Turkey, is 
pretty sure of employment, whether as Engineer, Inspector 
of Mines, or any other self-attributed quality ; he is employed 
on some public work, pockets as much money as he can, on 
the chance of his incapacity being found out by some miracle ; 
if he is undetected, he gets more work entrusted to him, and 
speedily makes a handsome fortune, which he of course does 
not care to spend in Turkey. 

But to return to the Kustchuk and Varna Chaussee. This 
undertaking was commenced about four years ago, and the 
line traced by a foreign engineer, to whom the contract was 
given. This gentleman, instead of paying for the necessary 
work, had it all done by corvee (forced labour of the peasantry), 
and pocketed the sum intended for the wages of the labourers, 
in addition to his own handsome salary as engineer. What 



28 ROADS AND MEANS OF COMMUNICATION. Chap. III. 



the road may have been when first completed we are unable 
to say, but we have a feeling recollection of what it was when 
we were obliged to travel by it during the early part of 1867. 
For some six or seven miles out of Eustchuk the road was 
good and well kept ; there were even imbecile trees planted 
and propped up at regular distances, trying to look as if they 
were on some high road of France or Belgium ; but as we 
advanced further from the town, the road grew more sickly 
looking, and after three or four hours' travelling, it apparently 
disappeared altogether, although the lines of trees were still 
to be seen at some little distance. This peculiarity was ac- 
counted for by the driver of our post-carriage, who told us 
that the road was so bad that he was obliged to go across 
country to avoid it, and, as a curve of our track over the 
fields brought us nearer to what should have been the 
chaussee, we could see that he had exercised a most wise 
discretion, for the great artery of communication between the 
Danube and Black Sea was much in the same condition as 
the Balkan roads we have already described. Heaps of 
broken stones for repairs lined the deserted road, but had 
certainly never been used since its construction, and as cer- 
tainly will remain unused for the next ten years. The con- 
formation of the country occasionally obliged us to return to 
the chaussee, a proceeding which we were always aware of 
by the diminution of speed and increase of jolting, but from 
Eustchuk to Devna, a distance of about 120 miles, we did 
not travel over the legitimate road for more than 30 miles, 
the rest was driven over corn fields, and through thick cover 
and marshes, anywhere to avoid Mithat Pasha's chaussee. 
Most probably there is a certain sum allowed in the budget 
of the Vilayet for the repair of the road. That the autho- 



Chap. III. 



A REMEDY SUGGESTED. 



29 



rities knew that a road would need repairs is evident, from the 
heaps of prepared stone. "Who pockets the allowance we do 
not know ; at any rate, it is but a drop in the ocean of 
peculation by which the finances of Turkey are absorbed. 

The remedy for this state of things would be of easy 
application, but in Turkey no one is responsible. If there 
existed two communes sufficiently enlightened to construct a 
gooi road between their respective villages, and to keep it in 
repair, no obstacle would be placed in their way by the local 
government, nor would any assistance be given them. But 
that two such villages should be found in the Balkan is 
hopeless. As long as the Eayah is not forced to assist in the 
work of his own civilisation he will do nothing. If govern- 
ment chooses to make a road for him he will grumble at the 
work required, even though well paid for it ; he will never 
take the initiative. 

If a responsible communal government were substituted 
for the wretched system of tchorbajes as at present existing, 
the work of road-making would, by being divided amongst the 
villages, become comparatively easy. Some of the innume- 
rable Bulgarian feast-days might be devoted to the repair, as 
well as construction, of the roads necessary, whilst a slight toll 
would provide funds for the expenses of the former. A great 
road such as that from Kustchuk to Varna, is, even if kept in 
repair, of but little use except to those villages lying upon 
its line, when the lateral roads from the villages, whose com- 
merce should debouch into the main system, are entirely 
neglected. Taking winter and summer together, the average 
rate of cart or horse locomotion can hardly exceed two miles 
per hour, a speed which, however, perfectly satisfies the 
Bulgarians, and with which they will continue to be contented 



30 ROADS AND MEANS OF COMMUNICATION. Chap. Ill, 



so long as they are allowed to remain in their present igno- 
rance of the value of time. 

The number of idle days (elsewhere given) amongst the 
peasantry is certainly sufficient to admit of each village 
making a mile or two of good road, and keeping it in repair 
every year. Labour being thus found, but little expense is 
needed. Buffaloes must be fed whether they work or not, 
and stone is abundant everywhere. If money is required, 
there are few Christian villages in this Pashalik which could 
not easily furnish a sufficient sum. 

The new railroad from Varna to Rustchuk, in communica- 
tion with the Danube steamers, is a great advantage to 
foreigners living in this part of Turkey, as far as the speedy 
transit of letters is concerned, and is also a great convenience 
to the grain merchants, but the peasants seldom or never 
send their corn by it, preferring to carry it in their own carts, 
even though they start from a village where there is a station. 
Strategically this line is very badly traced, since, by its 
running along the north side of the lake of Varna, it is open 
to be taken by a coup de main, in the eVent of a Russian 
invasion and march upon Varna, and the communication 
between that town and Shumla would thus be interrupted. 
The peasants complain greatly of its being unfenced through- 
out its whole length, as an immense number of their cattle 
are destroyed by passing trains. On twelve miles of line 
more than a hundred head were killed during last year, all 
of which belonged to poor villages which could ill afford the 
loss. This railroad has been unfortunately conspicuous by 
the number of accidents occurring on it since it has been 
opened : in nine days (Nov. 18th to Nov. 27th, 1867), four 
trains ran off the lines, and this at a time when there were 



Chap. III. 



POSTAL IRREGULARITIES 



31 



no quick trains, in consequence of the freezing of- the Danube 
and suspension of the mails by that route. 

Contracts have already been made for various railroads in 
European Turkey, from Constantinople to Adrianople, and 
from there to Varna, &c, but it will, of course, be some years 
before these are completed ; in the mean time the traveller 
in the interior has to ride, as the country roads are by no 
means calculated for carriages, and as carriages are not to be 
seen outside the large towns ; an araba which only goes at 
a foot's pace, and never has any springs, is by no means a 
convenient or agreeable mode of locomotion, and in deep 
snow, or very muddy weather, is often unable to go even 
a distance of a mile from one village to another. 

Turkey, with the logical consistency which distinguishes 
her svsteni of wasting or neglecting her pecuniary resources, 
has confided the European postal service to foreign com- 
panies, bv whom it is carried out in a manner which combines 
a great deal of apparent method with an entire absence of 
real order. If you, as a stranger at Constantinople, expect 
letters from Europe, you must make a round of visits to the 
various post-offices; those of the Austrian Lloyd and the 
French Messageries Imperiales are in the Rne des Postes, 
Pera, and reflect a great deal of credit upon their Perote 
architect, but you are not at all likely to find your letters on 
the first inquiry, for there seems to be some bye-law prevent- 
ing the clerks from o-mno- letters to anv one thev have not 
seen three or four times. Probably one of the employes will 
be polite enough to suggest your trying at the English post- 
office in G-alata, and if you follow his advice you will have a 
pleasant search of an hour or two amongst the ships' chandlers 
and potato shops of that fragrant suburb, until you find out 



32 ROADS AND MEANS OF COMMUNICATION. Chap. III. 



a dirty building where your letters are not. However, if you 
have patience to become a regular visitant at the Austrian 
and French offices, the clerks will in time get accustomed to 
your face, and hand you over some letters which arrived at 
Constantinople about ten days before yourself; henceforward 
you have a fair enough chance of receiving two out of every 
three missives addressed to you. 

Residents in the capital can make special arrangements 
for letters being delivered at their houses, but even then 
there is but little certainty of receiving all that arrive at 
the office. A local post for Stamboul, Pera, and Galata, was 
organised some time since, but after a little time the com- 
pany failed, the service was discontinued, and it has not 
been again started. 

If the arrangements at Constantinople are bad, those of the 
smaller towns are (as far as we ran judge by experience) 
worse ; but to do the minor offices justice, they are at least 
free from the species of hypocrisy which prevails at head- 
quarters, as their exterior is by no means imposing, aud 
they do not make any pretensions to either order or 
method. 

At Varna letters for Europe may be looked for in three 
post-offices, two Austrian and one French ; * between midday 
and three o'clock these are closed to allow the clerks time 
for lunch or billiard playing, and even at other hours you are 
very fortunate if you do not find that the employe you want 
has gone out, and that the time of his return is uncertain. 

* There is a third Austrian office, but it seems to have been established 
more because there is luck in odd numbers than for any other reason, as 
the clerk is hardly ever visible, and no business of any kind appears to be 
transacted oftener than once a quarter. 



Chap. III. 



POSTAL IE REGULAR IT I E S . 



33 



The following dialogue, something very similar to which 
takes place every time we ride into Varna (and we are 
tolerably well known on account of our eccentric preference 
of the dangers of the hills, to the delights of 1 society ' in the 
town), gives an idea of the admirable management which 
pervades the postal arrangements : — 

" Est-ce qu'il y a des lettres pour nous ? " 

" Je ne crois pas, monsieur ; je vais voir. Non, il n'y en a 
point." 

" Et cependant il doit y en avoir." 

(Looks again over a disorderly pile of documents) " Non, 
monsieur ; vous avez ete a l'autre poste autrichienne ? " 
"Oui." 

" Et a la poste francaise ? " 
" Oui." 

" Yous avez passe a l'Agence angiaise ? " 
-Oui." 

"Alors il n'y en a pas — tiens ! c'est vrai, je crois me 
rappeler qu'il y a quelquechose pour vous quelquepart." 
(Looks over several other disorderly piles of documents, 
at length fishes out a letter, and exclaims, with great com- 
placency), " Yoila ! monsieur." 

" Mais cette lettre est arrivee ici le mois cle Septembre, 
1866, et nous sommes dans le mois d'Avril, 1868 ! "* 

(Examines the letter attentively), " C'est fort drole, 9a ! 
nous ne l'avons pas cependant vue ! " 

A few days afterwards a servant is sent in for letters, and 
brings back a polite note from the same clerk, informing us 
that a packet for us has been lying at his office for eighty- 



* This incident actually occurred to us a short time since. 

D 



34 KOADS AND MEANS OF COMMUNICATION. Chap. III. 



three clays, and suggesting that we should come to claim 
it! Not having been to Varna since, we are unable to 
imagine what is the reason that it should not have been 
given up to us during one of our previous visits. 

The new postal route to Europe by the Eustchuk railroad 
is a very rapid one theoretically ; but besides the fact that 
letters are often mislaid for weeks at the Varna post-office, 
there is another drawback to their rapid delivery ; the clerk 
at Eustchuk (at least the blame is laid upon him), once a 
month forgets to separate the Varna letters from those for 
Constantinople, and they consequently go on to the capital, 
have to wait for the departure of a Black Sea steamer, and 
return with an extra charge for postage. 

Another peculiarity of the direct route is that although 
books and small parcels may be forwarded from Europe 
by the post, they are not permitted to be sent from 
Turkey. 

We wished to send a letter to Adrianople, and fancying 
that the best way was by sea to Constantinople, and thence 
onwards, we applied at the Austrian post-office No. 1, which 
referred us to the French post-office, which referred us to the 
Austrian post-office No. 2, which referred us back again to 
the French office, where a grand consultation of charts took 
place ; then we were asked where Adrianople was, and on 
our saying that to the best of our knowledge it was in Euro- 
pean Turkey, Ave were recommended to try the Turkish 
steam packet office. The officials there declined to have 
anything to do with our letter, but pointed out a little sort of 
hut at the corner of a street, built of planks, and looking 
just like a Yankee post-office in the back woods ; this proved 
to be rilled with a wooden desk, a narghileh, and a Turk, and 



Chap. III. 



TELEGRAPH CLERKS. 



35 



the latter informed us that letters for Adrianople might be 
posted (that is, put into an open wooden drawer) there, pro- 
vided they were legibly addressed in Turkish — so at last we 
got rid of our letters. But after all we found out that the 
Austrian and French officers ought, either of them, to have 
accepted it. 

The telegraph works pretty well, but, as far as Varna is 
concerned, would work better if the clerks were capable of 
writing any European language correctly, and had a more 
definite idea of geography. Some time since we had occasion 
to send a telegram to Frankfurt am Main, but none of the 
employes had heard of that city, they could not find its name 
in their books, and there was no map to consult, so, although 
we described its situation in six different languages (all of 
which they were supposed to understand), they suggested 
that we should call next day, and in the mean time they 
would make enquiries; this proposition we declined, and at 
length were lucky enough to discover Frankfort on an old 
tariff-sheet, upon which the Tel (according to the Turkish 
abbreviated form in use) was despatched ; but it arrived at 
its destination in such a mangled form that it was completely 
unintelligible. 



D 2 



36 



BULGARIAN SUPERSTITIONS. 



Chap. IY. 



CHAPTER IV. 

BULGAEIAN SUPERSTITIONS. 

Paganism and witchcraft tolerated by the Church — Feast of all Nature — 
Switch day — Dipping day — Bacchantes — A day of mortification for 
the dogs — All Souls — Feast of Constantine — Miraculous fish — Feast 
of serpents — Old Mother March — St. George's : why lambs are sacri- 
ficed — The Panagia — Feast of pigs — Novel sins — The Vampire — 
Fountain spirits — Spirit treasure-guardians — Ghosts of the Turks — 
Our success as exorcists — Notions of a future state. 

As in all Evil there is a substratum of Good, so from the 
fact that the Greek clergy — interested in their Bulgarian 
flocks merely as a means of revenue — care but little what may 
be their morality, and are equally indifferent to what, how 
much, or how little they believe, so long as their faith or its 
absence does not diminish the exchequer of the Orthodox 
Church, it results that the antiquarian in search of ancient 
Slavonic superstitions, habits, customs, legends, and even 
rites dating from Pagan times, will find in Bulgaria a rich 
and untouched field for his investigations. 

Unfortunately a total absence of all the books necessary 
for reference and collation forbids us attempting to make a 
special study of the subject, and we are forced to content 
ourselves with a mere catalogue of some of the superstitions 
prevalent in our immediate neighbourhood ; but such is the 
originality and genuineness of the old Slavonic traditions in 
these provinces, that even the meagre and imperfect details 
which we give may not be without interest for the lovers of 
that folk-lore which is so rapidly disappearing from Europe. 



Chap. IV. PAGANISM AND WITCHCRAFT TOLERATED. 37 



In those Slavonic countries which profess Konian Catho- 
licism, the clergy, with its almost mathematical rigidity of 
principle, has cast down the images, abolished the feasts, 
uprooted the superstitions, and even banished the memories, 
of the ancient gods. Among the Czechs, again, the Croats, 
the Dalmatians, and others, civilisation and foreign or in- 
ternal despotism * have produced the same effect, so that the 
ancient traditions are either entirely effaced, or altered and 
disfigured by the varnish of a spurious poetry, j whereas in 
Bulgaria they still flourish and retain intact their original 
roughness. 

A secondary cause of the non-intervention of the Greek 
clergy in the superstitious beliefs of the peasantry, is the very 
slight religious faith they themselves possess, an indifferent- 
ism which leads them to open encouragement of ignorance. 
Thus, when the Papas finds that his prayer for rain to St. 
John the Baptist is utterly ineffectual, whilst the spells of 
the village witch are followed by a plentiful shower which 
revives the drooping cabbages, he, being without any belief in 
the religion which he professes, and yet feeling the necessity 
of believing in something, comes to the conclusion that 
certain occult forces are really the appanage of the sorceress, 
and instead of opposing himself to the powers of darkness 
he thinks it better to make a compact of mutual aid and 
toleration. 

Hence it is, that if the Papas's fields suffer from drought, 
or his wife or child are ill, he calls in the assistance of 

* As in Russia, which has been under the successive despotism of 
Tartars, Lithuanians, and the Emperors. 

t It will be seen further on, the legend of the vampire has been 
poetized in Dalmatia out of all resemblance to its original form. 



38 



BULGARIAN SUPERSTITIONS. 



Chap. IV. 



the village witch,* who performs certain incantations for the 
benefit of the weather or the sick people, addressed to 
the Spirit of Evil, and who carries out her part of the treaty 
by paying the Papas's exactions, and taking her own infant 
to be sprinkled with holy water every month. 

Unchecked by the priest, and unbanished by education, 
the old Slavonic Pantheism reigns supreme, in fact if 
not in name, in Bulgaria ; and, excluding many doctrines 
of Christianity with which it cannot assimilate, clothes 
itself with the garments of the outward observances of the 
Church, and gives birth to a practical religion of the most 
extraordinary kind. 

Last week a peasant said to us, "The 25th March (o. s.) 
is the Blagostina; it is only a little Feast of the Church, 
but it is a great Feast day for all Mature, for then even 
the swallows and the bees cease from labour : all Nature 
reposes and makes ready for the birth of Spring ; so it is a 
great festival, for it is that of the new-born Spring and 
of Serpents." 

We find thus certain feasts of pagan origin, and accom- 
panied by rites which are certainly not those of the Church ; 
but owing to the great number of ecclesiastical festivals, 
heathen and Christian anniversaries often coincide in date 
and produce a singular mixture of observances taken from 
the old and the new religion. 

On New Year's Day, which is called Chibouque-gunu 
(Switch-day), everybody procures a little switch of Kizil 
(cornel wood), and taps with it every one he meets, at the 
same time wishing him a happy new year; this practice is 
not of Slavonic origin. 



* Fact, 



Chap. IY. 



BACCHANTES. 



39 



The 19th January (n. s.), the Feast of the Three Kings, 
is called the Eslama-gunu, or Dipping-day, and every man 
in the village is carried off to the fountain and thoroughly 
soused with water unless he ransoms himself by the payment 
of a certain amount of wine, the forfeits thus collected being 
drunk by the assembled villagers in the evening. This 
custom is not Slavonic, but common to all peoples who profess 
the Greek religion. The day following is observed (though 
only in those villages which are of pure Slavonic race, and 
not by the Qagaous) as the Babou-dien, Old Woman's Day, 
when all the married women celebrate a sort of Saturnalia, 
and wind up by getting very drunk in the evening. This 
year we arrived at the village of Dervishkivi in Eoumelia, 
on the Babou-dien, and hardly were we seen approaching 
when a troop of Bacchantes surrounded us, and nearly pulled 
us off our horses, only consenting to let us pass on the receipt 
of black mail. In the evening a similar troop, very tipsy, 
invaded the house where we were staying, and danced about 
in the most frantic manner, headed by an old lady astride 
upon a cane, and looking a very impersonation of a witch upon 
the traditional broomstick. Perhaps it might be possible to 
trace the origin of the Sabbat of the Brocken to the hills of 
the Balkans. 

On the first day of Lent, all the village dogs are caught, 
and soundly beaten, to prevent them going mad during the 
year : this is a very unpleasant day for strangers, as the cries 
of the men and the howls of the poor brutes are almost 
deafening, and in a large village the ceremony lasts till 
nearly evening. 

Next comes the Dusz Nitza (Jour des Morts, the All Souls' 
Day of Western Europe), which with the Bulgarians is on 



40 



BULGARIAN SUPERSTITIONS. 



Chap. IV. 



the first day of the second week in Lent ; in the evening the 
women go from house to house with lighted candles, in order 
" that the souls of the dead may have good appetites, and be 
well fed in the place where they are." 

The Blagostina (which we have already said is on the 25th 
March) is, according to the Papas, the Feast of Constantine 
the Great, who is singularly mixed up and confounded with 
Constantine Palseologus ; * on this day, although it occurs 
during Lent when even fish and oil are forbidden by the 
Greek Church, the Bulgarians are allowed to eat fish, a 
dispensation which has its origin in the following strange 
legend. According to this story, Constantine Pakeologus, on 
the last day of the siege of Constantinople, was busy frying 
fish in his palace, by the side of a pond, when terrified 
messengers came running in to announce that the Turks 
were mounting the breach for the final assault. " Pooh ! 
nonsense ! " replied the Emperor, " the Turks will no more 
take the town than these fried fish will jump into the 
pond!" As he said this, the fish gave a spring into the 
water, and, ready cooked as they were, began swimming 
about merrily. A Bulgarian, lately returned from Constan- 
tinople, assures us that he has seen these identical fish in the 
identical fish-pond, but that of the three who were there 
formerly one has disappeared (probably having died of old 
age), and there are now only two remaining ; this informa- 
tion may perhaps be useful for the next edition of Mr. 



* The Bulgarians say "St. Constantine" was the hero of this legend, 
but as the only saint of that name is Constantine the Great, who is not 
generally supposed to have been at the taking of Constantinople by the 
Turks, there must be a mistake somewhere • on their part, or that of 
the priests who taught them this story. 



Chap. IV. 



FEAST OF SERPENTS. 



1! 



Murray's ' Handbook for Constantinople.' In this tradition, 
originated by the Greek clergy, may be traced their hatred 
to the last of the Byzantine Emperors, whom they cannot 
forgive for having embraced Catholicism, and whom they 
calumniate by representing one of the bravest defenders of 
Constantinople as frying fish whilst the assault was raging 
on the ramparts ; perhaps the same authority may describe 
the traitor Notaras as defending the breach. Still, it seems 
difficult to understand why all this should permit the Bul- 
garians to eat fish on the Blagostina. 

On that day the peasants do nothing — not even going out 
shooting — and dare not take off their charreks or sandals, 
for it is the Feast of Serpents, who then come out of their 
holes, and any one who thus profaned their Sabbath would 
be sure to be bitten by them in the course of the year. 
In the evening large bonfires are lit, and the young people 
dance round one of them to the sound of the gaida, whilst 
the married women spin around a second, and the married 
men get drunk around a third. Taking into consideration 
these ceremonies and the belief that the Blagostina is the 
Feast of reviving Nature consecrated by the repose of all 
animated beings, and remembering that the great Slavonic 
Festivals of Paganism corresponded in date with the solstices 
and equinoxes, we see that it is neither Constantine the 
Great nor the fried fish of Constantine Palseologus that the 
Bulgarians commemorate, but a tradition of Slavonic Pan- 
theism. 

The month of March, which falls in the Spring equinox, 
is called by the Bulgarians Baba Mart, Old Mother March, 
and is the only female month of the year, the others being 
considered as masculine. March in Bulgaria is like April 



42 



BULGARIAN SUPERSTITIONS. Chap. IV. 



in England, inconstant and capricious, alternating between 
storms and sunshine ; and it is here specially dedicated to 
the fair sex, who during its continuance enjoy complete idle- 
ness, doing no work, and asserting a sort of temporary 
superiority over their husbands which sometimes even goes 
to the length of administering a thrashing without fear of 
reprisal. 

In order not to displease Baba Mart, the women do not 
even smear the floors of their houses with clay (a work which 
is usually performed every week), wash, weave, or spin ; for 
if they were to do so she would give no rain during the year, 
and lightning would infallibly strike the house in which she 
had been thus insulted. 

There are certain clever old women who, knowing where 
Baba Mart resides, pay her a visit, and from her information 
assign to each of the married women a day of the month on 
which the weather will be according to the character of the 
lady whose day it is ; thus, if Mrs. Dimitri gets the 1st of 
March, it will be fine with jDerhaps a warm and gentle shower 
or two, for she is an amiable and soft-hearted woman, a little 
given to shedding unnecessary tears upon any pretext. Mrs. 
Tanaz is a loud-voiced shrew, so her day will be made up of 
wind, black clouds, snow, and heavy rain. "Don't go out 
shooting to-morrow, Chelibi, for it is the day of Kodja Keraz's * 
wife, and she has such an awful temper that the weather is 
sure to be horrible." 

When a woman is assigned a day for the first time, her 
character is judged by the state of the weather ; fortunately 



* Kodja Keraz means literally " Old Cherry Tree," a name which reminds 
one of those fanciful appellations assumed by the North American Indians. 



Chap. IV. 



WHY LAMBS ARE SACRIFCED. 



43 



this system is not extended to young ladies on tlieir promo- 
tion, or many a match might be broken off by an inopportune 
storm in the month of March. 

On St. George's day (23rd April, n. s.), the Bulgarians 
make a sacrifice of lambs ; the legend which gives rise to 
it is this : — One day the Creator entered into the house of a 
very poor man, and asked for something to eat; the man 
(whose name the Bulgarians say is forgotten) had neither 
lamb nor kid to offer, so he took his little son, cut his throat, 
and " pitched " him into the oven. Presently the Creator 
was hungry, and asked if the food was cooked. 

" Directly," answered the man. 

" Open the door, and see if it is ready." 

The father opened the oven, and saw with astonishment his 
son, instead of being roasted, sitting down and writing on 
his knee, Turkish fashion. 

The Almighty then told him that in future a lamb was to 
be sacrificed on every anniversary of that day. 

This legend, which we have given exactly as we heard it, 
seems to be a mixture of the history of Abraham's sacrifice 
and the story of Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego ; but the 
peasants relate it as an old tradition amongst themselves, and 
not as a piece of Biblical history. 

About the time of the summer solstice there is another 
nocturnal feast with bonfires, doubtless that of the Slavonic 
deity Kupalo (the bathing god) ; but we have been unable 
to obtain from the Bulgarians any other reason for its observ- 
ance than " taki adet," " such is the custom." 

On the Feast of the Panagia (the Blessed Virgin) sacrifices 
of lambs, kids, honey, wine, <Src, are offered in order that 
the children of the house may enjoy good health through- 



BULGARIAN SUPERSTITIONS. 



Chap. IV. 



out the year : in order to determine the saint to whom these 
sacrifices are to be dedicated, the peasants have recourse to 
a ceremony of divination which savours strongly of pagan 
origin. Three candles are lit, and behind each is placed a 
picture of a saint, a little child is brought, and whichever 
candle he touches first shows that the offering is to be made 
to the corresponding saint, whose picture probably replaces 
the images of the heathen divinities ; when the saint has 
been thus chosen the bystanders each drink a cup of wine, 
saying " Saint So-and-so, to thee is the offering," and cut the 
throat of the lamb, or smother the bees. In the evening 
the whole village assembles to eat the various sacrifices, the 
men of course finishing with the invariable end of all Bul- 
garian solemnities, drunkenness. 

On the Feast of St. Demetrius lighted candles are placed 
in the stables and the place where fire-wood is chopped, to 
prevent evil spirits entering into the domestic animals. 

In the winter solstice occurs the long feast of the Kolenda, 
so well known amongst Slavonic nations, which the Bul- 
garians call Kulada ; it is the great time for all kinds of 
divinatory rites and incantations, especially amongst young 
girls w T ho are anxious to know who are to be their husbands. 

During its whole duration, which includes Christmas (or 
as the Bulgarians call it Domouz Kirnia, the Feast of Pigs, 
because on that day every family kills one of these animals), 
all songs which are sung must terminate each verse with the 
refrain, " Kulada, hy Kulada : " and as it is at this period 
that the elementary spirits are most powerful and active, the 
peasants are obliged to take every precaution against them ; 
no carts must be left without at least one log of wood in 
them, and no water-vessels entirely empty, for fear that some 



Chap. IV. 



NOVEL SINS. 



15 



demon should take possession of them, and by his presence 
render them too heavy to be moved or lifted. 

It is easy to see, even from the few instances we have 
given, that the feasts of the Bulgarians are a strange medley 
of old Slavonic Paganism and the ill-defined and superstitious 
Christianity* which exists in the East. The saints of the 
Greek calendar have taken the place of the heathen idols, 
but not altogether nor always, for the peasants still offer 
sacrifices to nature, to the elements, and even to animals; 
although the oblations of the latter class, as for instance that 
to the serpent, is really mere Pantheism, the ancient Lithua- 
nians (who probably borrowed the custom from their Slavonic 
neighbours), having worshipped Spring under the symbols of 
a serpent, of thunder, and of rain, all of which attributes are 
connected in Bulgaria with Baba Mart, the mother of vege- 
tation, of summer, of the whole year. 

If we now take into consideration those breaches of certain 
superstitious observances which are considered by the Papas 
as sins (gunahler), the mixture of extraneous matter with 
the Greek rite becomes still more easily visible. The con- 
fession of a Bulgarian peasant is no easy matter, for in 
addition to the commandments of Scripture, he has to make 
a mental review of those ordained by his clergy, of which 
one of the latest is, that it is a great sin to give alms to a 
gipsy or an " infidel." Fortunately for him the moral 
elasticity tolerated in the Oriental Church dispenses him 
from troubling himself very much about the prohibitions of 
Scripture, so long as he observes strictly those of the Church 



* In the following chapter, upon the customs, &c, of the Bulgarians, 
this connection will be still more clearly made evident. 



BULGARIAN SUPERSTITIONS. 



Chap. IV. 



and especially those of the priests ; — of these latter, which to 
the peasant are sins of the deepest dye, although he can give 
no further reason for the innate depravity of these actions 
than the dictum of a Papas, we give an imperfect and 
abbreviated list, which, however, includes most of those 
affecting everyday life.* 
It is a sin — 

1. To give a child a spoon to play with. 

2. To give away or sell a loaf of bread without breaking a piece from it. 

3. Not to fumigate with incense the flour when it is brought from the 
mill (particularly if the mill be kept by a Turk), in order to prevent 
the Devil entering into it. 

4. To wash a child before he has come to the (canonical) age of reason, 
that is to say, seven years. 

5. To sell flour before making a loaf from it. 

6. To clean a stable, sell milk, or fetch water from the fountain after 
dusk. 

7. To allow a dog to sleep on the roof of the house, as this gravely 
imperils the soul of any defunct member of the family. 

8. Not to throw some water out of every bucket brought from the foun- 
tain, as some elementary spirit might otherwise be floating on the surface 
of the water, and, not being thrown out, take up his abode in the house, 
or enter into the body of any one who drank from the vessel. 

Finally, it is a sin to fail in the observance of any of the hundred super- 
stious practices approved or tolerated by the Papas. 

An English Koman Catholic priest of the oratory would 
be perhaps a little astonished if one of his lady-penitents 
confessed with tears that she had washed her baby, or that 
Fido had climbed out on to the roof through the window of 
the footman's bedroom, and spent the night there ; but the 
Greek Papas treats such backslidings as serious transgressions 
of morality, nourishes his whip, and imposes probably, for the 
infant washed, a heavier penance than for the oxen stolen. 

By far the most curious superstition in Bulgaria is that of 



* See Appendix B. 



Chap. IV. 



THE VAMPIRE. 



-17 



the vampire/* a tradition which is common to all countries 
of Slavonic origin, but is now to be found in its original 
loathsomeness only in these provinces. In Dalmatia and 
Albania, whence the knowledge of this superstition was first 
imported into Europe, and which were consequently, though 
wrongly, considered as its mother countries, the vampire has 
been disfigured by poetical embellishments and has become a 
mere theatrical being — tricked out in all the tinsel of modern 
fancy. The Dalmatian youth who, after confessing himself 
and receiving the Holy Communion as if in preparation for 
death, plunges a consecrated poniard into the heart of the 
vampire slumbering in his tomb ; and the supernaturally 
beautiful vampire himself, who sucks the life-blood of 
sleeping maidens, has never been imagined by the people, 
but fabricated, or at least dressed up, by romancers of the 
sensational school. 

When that factitious poetry born from the ashes of a people 
whose nationality is extinct, and from which civilisation has 
reaped its harvest, replaces the harsh, severe, even terrible 
poetry which is the offspring of the uncultivated courage or 
fear of a young and vigorous humanity, legendary lore 
becomes weak, doubtful, and theatrical. Thus, as in a 
ballad said to be antique we recognise a forgery by the 
smoothness of its rhythm and the nicety of its rhyme ; so, 
when the superstitions of a people naturally uneducated and 
savage are distinguished by traits of religion or of senti- 
ment, we trace the defacing hand of the Church or the poet. 



* The pure Bulgarians call this being by the genuine Slavonic name of 
Upior, the Gagaous (or Bulgarians of mixed race) by that of Obour, which 
is Turkish ; in Dalmatia it is known as WuJcocllak, which appears to be 
merely a corruption of the Piomaic BpvKokag. 



48 



BULGARIAN SUPERSTITIONS. 



Chap. IV. 



In Dalmatia the vampire is now no more than a shadow in 
which no one believes, or at best in which, people pretend to 
believe, just as a London Scottish volunteer will assure you 
of his firm faith in the Kelpie and Brounie of Sir Walter 
Scott, or will endeavour to convince you that he wears a kilt 
from choice and not for effect. Between the conventional 
vampire and the true horror of Slavonic superstition there 
is as much difference as between the highland chief who 
kicked away the ball of snow from under his son's head, 
reproaching him with southron effeminacy in needing the 
luxury of a pillow, and the kilted cockney sportsman who 
shoots down tame deer in an enclosure. 

In Poland the Koman Catholic clergy have laid hold upon 
this superstition as a means of making war upon the great 
enemy of the Church, and there- the vampire is merely a 
corpse possessed by the Evil Spirit, and no longer the true 
vampire of the ancient Slavonians. In Bulgaria we find the 
brute in its original and disgusting form ; it is no longer a 
dead body possessed by a demon, but a soul in revolt against 
the inevitable principle of corporeal death ; the Dalmatian 
poniard, blessed upon the altar, is powerless here, and its 
substitute is an Hatch (literally, medicine) administered by 
the witch or some other wise woman, who detects a vampire 
by the hole in his tombstone or the earth which covers him, 
and stuffs it up with human excrement (his favourite food) 
mixed with poisonous herbs. 

We will now give the unadulterated Bulgarian supersti- 
tion, merely prefacing that we ought to be well acquainted 
with it, inasmuch as a servant of ours is the son of a noted 
vampire, and is doing penance during this present Lent by 
neither smoking, nor drinking wine or spirits, in order to 



Chap. IV. 



TRICKS OF THE VAMPIEE. 



40 



expiate the sins of his father and to prevent himself* inheriting 
the propensity.* 

When a man who has vampire blood in his veins — for this 
condition is not only epidemic and endemic but hereditary — 
or who is otherwise predisposed to become a vampire,f dies, 
nine days after his burial he returns to upper earth in an 
aeriform shape. The presence of the vampire in this his first 
condition may be easily discerned in the dark by a succession 
of sparks like those from a flint and steel, in the light, by a 
shadow projected upon a wall and varying in density accord- 
ing to the age of the vampire in his career. In this stage he 
is comparatively harmless and is only able to play the 
practical jokes of the German Kobold and Gnome, of the 
Irish Phooka, or the English PuckJ he roars in a terrible 
voice, or amuses himself by calling out the inhabitants of a 
cottage by the most endearing terms and then beating them 
black and blue. 

The father of our servant Theodore was a vampire of this 
class. One night he seized by the waist (for vampires are 
capable of exercising considerable physical force) Kodja 
Keraz, the Pehlivan or champion wrestler of Derekuoi, crying 
out, " Now then, old Cherry Tree, see if you can throw me." 
The village champion put forth all his strength, but the 
vampire was so heavy that Kodja Keraz broke his own jaw in 
throwing the invisible being who was crushing him to death.§ 

* Poor Theodore is head over ears in love with Miss Tuturitza, the 
young lady next door, who fully reciprocates his affection, but her parents 
refuse to sanction the marriage on account of the vampire father. 

f As when a man is strangled "by one of these beings. 

% He only resembles these spirits in their misdeeds ; unlike them, he 
never does a good turn to anybody. 

§ Of course, sceptical xoersons may be found who would explain this 

E 



50 



BULGARIAN SUPERSTITIONS. 



Chap. IV. 



At the time of this occurrence, five years ago, our village 
was so infested by vampires that the inhabitants were forced 
to assemble together in two or three houses, to burn candles 
all night, and to watch by turns in order to avoid the assaults 
of the Obours who lit up the streets with their sparkles, and 
of whom the most enterprising threw their shadows on the 
walls of the room where the peasants were dying of fear ; 
whilst others howled, shrieked, and swore outside the door, 
entered the abandoned houses, spat blood into the flour, 
turned everything topsy-turvy, and smeared the whole place, 
even the pictures of the saints, with cow-dung. Happily for 
Derekuoi, Tola's mother, an old lady suspected of a turn for 
witchcraft, discovered the Hatch we have already mentioned, 
laid the troublesome and troubled spirits, and since then the 
village has been free from these unpleasant supernatural 
visitations. 

When the Bulgarian vampire has finished a forty days' 
apprenticeship to the realm of shadows,* he rises from his 
tomb in bodily form and is able to pass himself off as a 
human being living honestly and naturally. Thirty years 
since a stranger arrived in this village, established himself, 



story by the hypothesis of too much wine and a fall over a heap of stones ; 
fortunately our village does not contain any such freethinkers, and Old 
Cherry Tree will be happy to relate his tale, as we have given it, to any 
inquirer after truth : to prove its accuracy, he can call many witnesses 
who will swear to the fact of his jaw having been broken. 

* Since commencing this chapter, we have learned that the village of 
Dervishkuoi, six hours from here, is just now haunted by a vampire ; he 
appears with a companion who was suppressed by means of the usual 
remedy, but this one seems to be proof against poison, and as he will 
shortly have completed his fortieth day as a shadow, the villagers are in 
terrible alarm lest he should appear as flesh and blood. 



Chap. IV. DEATH TO THE VAMPIRE. 51 

and married a wife with whom he lived en very good terms, 
she making but one complaint, that her husband absented 
himself from the conjugal roof every night and all night. 
It was soon remarked that (although scavengers were, and 
are, utterly unknown in Bulgaria) a great deal of scavengers' 
work was done at night by some unseen being, and that 
when one branch of this industry was exhausted the dead 
horses and buffaloes which lay about the streets were 
devoured by invisible teeth, much to the prejudice of the 
village dogs ; then the mysterious mouth drained the blood 
of all cattle that happened to be in any way sickly. These 
occurrences and the testimony of the wife caused the stranger 
to be suspected of Vampirism, he was examined, found to 
have only one nostril,* and upon this irrefragable evidence 
was condemned to death. In executing this sentence, our 
villagers did not think it necessary to send for the priest, to 
confess themselves, or to take consecrated halters or daggers ; 
they just tied their man hand and foot, led him to a hill a 
little outside Derekuoi, lit a big fire of wait-a-bit thorns, 
and burned him alive. 

There is yet another method of abolishing a vampire, 
that of bottling him ; there are certain persons who make a 
profession of this, and their mode of procedure is as follows ; 
the sorcerer, armed with a picture of some saint, lies in 
ambush until he sees the vampire pass, when he pursues 
him with his Eikon ; the poor Obour takes refuge in a tree or 
on the roof of a house, but his persecutor follows him up 
with the talisman, driving him away from all shelter, in the 



* A thoroughly Slavonic idea : in Poland the vampire is also supposed 
to have a sharp point at the end of his tongue, like the sting of a bee. 

E 2 



52 BULGARIAN SUPERSTITIONS. vJhap. IV. 



direction of a bottle specially prepared, in which is placed 
some of the vampire's favourite food : having no other 
resource, he enters this prison, and is immediately fastened 
down with a cork, on the interior of which is a fragment of 
the Eikon. The bottle is then thrown into the fire, and the 
vampire disappears for ever. This method is curious as show- 
ing the grossly material view of the soul taken by the Bul- 
garians, who imagine that it is a sort of chemical compound 
destructible (like sulphuretted hydrogen) by heat, in the 
same manner that they suppose the souls of the dead to 
have appetites' and to feed after the manner of living beings 
' in the place where they are.' 

To finish the story of the Bulgarian vampire we have 
merely to state that here he does not seem to have that 
peculiar appetite for human blood which is generally 
supposed to form his distinguishing and most terrible 
characteristic, only requiring it when his resources of 
coarser food are exhausted. 

Whatever may be the origin of Fountain Spirits,* whether 
Slavonic or no, they exist in Bulgaria in great numbers, 
appearing under various forms — of a fair lady, a goose, a 
cat, &c. The brother of Marynka, our washerwoman, was 
bitten by one of the Cheshme cats, and died either from the 
wound or from fright. Our friend Nicolaki one evening saw 
a white goose on the top of a fountain, which all at once 



* The fountains (cheshme) are nearly always the work of Turks, who 
regard it as a sacred duty to utilize any spring of water they may find for 
the benefit of thirsty travellers. They are not usually so graceful in form 
as the classic drinking fountains of modern London, nor do they display 
the names of the generous donor in letters of gold ; if there is any inscrip- 
tion on them, it is sure to be a verse of the Koran. 



Chap. IV. 



FOUNTAIN SPIRIT?. 



03 



changed itself into a cat and commenced rubbing itself against 
bis legs in a most friendly way ; Nicolaki suspected that there 
was something uncanny in the transformation of a goose into 
a cat, and jumped over a little stream of water which trickled 
from the fountain, thus placing an insurmountable obstacle 
between himself and the object of his fear, for it seems that 
Bulgarian spirits, even those which belong to fountains, have 
this in common with the witches and warlocks of Scot- 
land, 

' A running stream they daurna cross.' 

When the Spirits appear as beautiful women they are 
(perhaps naturally) still more dangerous, the mere sight of 
them being sometimes sufficient to cause death. Dimitri of 
Derekuoi was harassed by the persecution of one of these 
ladies, whom he could never go out of his house without 
seeing, and after in vain trying to exorcise his tormentor by 
the aid of the Church, he applied to a Turkish Hodja who 
prescribed a remedy which we have been unable to learn, but 
which was perfectly efficacious. For some weeks Dimitri 
did not see the Lady of the Fountain, but rendered careless 
by fancied security, he neglected to comply with the Hodja's 
injunctions, and one evening was seized upon by his super- 
natural inamorata, who imprinted a fervent kiss upon his 
lips; a week afterwards Dimitri was dead. 

The Bulgarians, from their sordid and avaricious nature, 
are especially fond of money, and the peasant who would 
not go to the fountain after nightfall, even to save the lives 
of his father and mother, for fear of seeing the Spirits which 
haunt it, will confront all kinds of supernatural dangers on 
the chance of discovering a treasure ; although he will not 

• 



54 



BULGARIAN SUPERSTITIONS. 



Chap. IV. 



do two hours' work in order to earn a shilling, or to improve 
his fields, he will,dig for three or four consecutive nights 
with his hair standing on end and the cold sweat of terror 
on his brow, in the hope of finding some treasure supposed 
to have been buried by Delhi Marco or Alexander the 
Great. 

We have been lately" invited (probably because it is 
thought that two Englishmen must be more than a match 
for all the Spirits of Darkness in Bulgaria) to assist in 
digging up a famous treasure which is buried somewhere 
near the river Kamchyk and guarded sometimes by a sudden 
and violent storm of thunder, wind, and rain, sometimes by 
a gigantic and frightful negro, whose head reaches to the 
clouds and whose lower lip hangs down to earth. The 
man who requested our presence and assistance had tried six 
weeks before to unearth this treasure, but at the first blow 
of the pick the storm made its appearance, and as on the 
second night the negro showed himself, everybody was 
frightened and judged it better to give up the undertaking 
for the present, in consideration of the supernatural obstacles 
encountered. 

Besides the well-known method of discovering treasures on 
the eve of St. John, a curious rite is practised here to pro- 
pitiate the guardian spirits. When the precise locality has 
been found, some of the ashes thrown out into the Harman 
during the Kulada are spread at night over the place. The 
footmark which is seen imprinted next morning is that 
of the animal which the genius requires as a propitiatory 
offering. 

In the case of one treasure of which we have been told, 
the footprint seen the next day was that of a man, showing 



Chap. IV. SPIRIT TREASURE-GUARDIANS. 55 

that a human victim was required before the money could be 
dug up ; for the present this spot has been abandoned, and it 
is to be hoped that no Bulgarian will be tempted to make 
his fortune by a preliminary murder. 

An hour's journey from Alaja Monastir (a Greek monas- 
tery), in the neighbourhood of Baltchik, is a rocky valley 
called Kourou Dere, in which is a cavern with an iron door, 
always ajar, through which may be seen an inner cave filled 
with gold and silver. A Bulgarian Choban entered one 
day, filled his belt and his pockets with coin, and turned 
to go out; to his dismay he found the door closed and a 
hideous negro, armed with pistols and sword, guarding the 
exit. 

The Choban threw away all his gold, but the door re- 
mained shut, and the negro drew his sword ; then he noticed 
that a piece of money had stuck in his charrek (sandal), and 
on flinging this away he was allowed to escape, very glad to 
have come off so well. 

Another time a Turkish Hodja resolved to possess himself 
of the treasures enclosed in the same enchanted cavern, and 
set out for Kourou Dere armed with an ancient book of 
necromancy, and accompanied by seven Bulgarians to carry 
the spoil and three Turks to guard it. He entered the ante- 
chamber and, having strictly forbidden his followers to utter 
a word whatever they might see or hear, commenced reading 
aloud from his magic volume ; as he read, a side door opened 
in. the rock, disclosing a motionless lady of marvellous 
beauty. The Hodja continued reading, and the damsel took 
off her head-dress and laid it upon the ground ; the Hodja, 
without ceasing his reading, removed his turban and laid it 
on the top of the head-dress : presently the lady took off her 



56 



BULGARIAN superstitions. 



Chap. IY. 



jacket and the Hodja his, observing the same ceremony of 
superimposition, and so it went on till lady and schoolmaster 
(the latter still reading) appeared in the costume of Adam 
and Eve before the fall. Then a young Turk forgot the in- 
junction given, and called out, " I say Hodja, what are you 
doing ? " At these words a sudden blast of wind transported 
the treasure-seeker and his companions to a spot just outside 
the walls of Alaja Monastir. What became of the Hodja's 
garments our informant was unable to tell us. 

At Pietrych Kaleh, near G-ebidjie, the villagers of Evren 
found a great treasure, but four men (they were Bulgarians) 
died of terror in digging it up. 

Between our village and Varna there is an old choked-up 
well which the country people say is Genoese.* Nicolaki 
went there with others to search for treasure, and after a 
whole day's hard work they found a dead squirrel, which 
they threw out on the ground. Nicolaki said, " Why I think 
it's a squirrel!" and the little animal jumped up and climbed 
up on a tree. When they had dug to a depth of twenty feet 
they saw a big snake, also dead, and pitched him out too. 
Next day they resumed their labour and, to their horror, saw 
the same snake alive in the same hole. This was too much 
for their nerves, fear conquered cupidity, and they left the 
place ; but in the course of their excavations they sounded a 

* In Bulgaria, almost all antiquities are attributed (both by Turks and 
Rayahs), to the Genoese ; at Karamanja, in Roumelia, there are some very 
perfect remains of a Roman wall (probably that built by Hadrian, from 
the Danube to the Black Sea), in which may still be traced the gate and 
flanking towers ; these are termed Genoese by the people of the neighbour- 
hood, as are also some ruins in the same vicinity, which, judging from the 
fragments of pottery and sculptured stone which we saw, appear to belong 
to the old Macedonian empire. 



Chap. IV. 



GHOSTS OF THE TURKS. 



57 



hole beneath them of about sixty feet, so that they would 
have had three days' good work to arrive at the bottom of 
the well, even supposing that they were not impeded by 
any further supernatural manifestations. 

The same Nicolaki was also engaged at night in looking 
for another supposed treasure not far from this well. The 
workers heard mysterious voices from the depths of the lake 
enjoining them to desist ; but though they were in a terrible 
fright they kept on until all at once day broke, and they 
saw a squadron of Turkish cavalry charging at them through 
the cover ; then the Bulgarians took to their heels and never 
ceased running till they got to their own village, where, to 
their astonishment, they found it still black night and that 
the earliest cock had not yet crowed ! 

Ghosts, as we understand the term in England, are very 
rare if not entirely unknown in Bulgaria. There is certainly 
the white woman of Gebidjie, who haunts a hilly piece of 
road in the neighbourhood of that village, and without invita- 
tion takes a ride in any cart which happens to pass her 
domain, making the vehicle so heavy that the oxen are often 
unable to draw it ; her costume, as far as we can make out 
from those who have seen her, is that of an ancient Boman 
lady, and she is most probably the guardian of a treasure, 
for the combustible souls of the Bulgarians seem not to 
reappear under any form but that of a vampire, and bear 
no resemblance to those spectres whose traditions Europe 
inherits from the middle ages. 

According to a Bulgarian superstition, those Turks who 
have never eaten of the animal sacred to the Bayahs, the 
pig, become wild boars after their death. The father of a 
peasant we know had one day shot a very fine boar in the 



58 



BULGARIAN SUPERSTITIONS. 



Chap. IV. 



forest, and invited a lot of friends to partake of it ; but when 
the Kebas were placed on the spit they suddenly and with 
one accord jumped off it into the fire — a proceeding which a 
good deal frightened the assembled guests. However, an 
old man, who had rather a reputation for sorcery, asked the 
host to bring the head of the boar to look at. In the ears 
was found a piece of cotton, which the wise man said was a 
fragment of the turban worn by the Turk who had assumed 
the porcine shape, so all the meat was thrown away. The 
Kayahs also pretend that when a Mussulman who has never 
eaten pork dies, the Turkish women anoint the corpse with 
pig's lard to prevent his soul entering into the body of the 
unclean animal. 

The action of the priesthood in Bulgaria, we must repeat, 
has not succeeded (if indeed it has even endeavoured to do so) 
in eradicating the materialism which characterises the mind 
of the true Slav, or in producing a thorough belief in one of 
the great tenets of Christianity, the immortality of the soul. 
Although the peasantry will tell you that there is a world of 
spirits beyond this life, they practically deny the fact, for 
their superstitions, which are more deeply rooted than the 
doctrines of the Church in their minds, represent the soul, 
although it may outlast the body, as destructible and subject 
to the wants of animal life. 

The spirits of a more ethereal nature do not seem to be 
animated by souls of defunct Bulgarians ; the guardians of 
treasures are borrowed from the Turks, who received the 
idea from the Arabs ; the fountain spirits, allowing them to 
be of Slavonic origin, are mere demons of the elements and 
not even diabolical ; the will o' the wisp is certainly said to 
be a soul escaped for a night or two from Limbo, but the 



Chap. IV. 



OUR SUCCESS AS EXOECISTS. 



59 



peasantry have no great faith in him, because he is described 
as being so only on the authority of the Papas. 

In short the Bulgarian mind seems to be capable of con- 
ceiving the disembodied soul only as something possessing 
still grosser appetites than its fleshly covering. 

There are other spirits in whom the peasantry believe, but 
to whom they give no name, describing them " as a kind of 
invisible beast ; " such is the nightmare, which is not the off- 
spring of too much pork and consequent indigestion, but a 
maleficent being to be exorcised by spells; and a class of 
spirits (probably connected with the Polish Choclilik and the 
Cossack Oczeretny-Czort or reed-devil) who inhabit marshy 
places or forests, amusing themselves by pouncing upon the 
unwary passer-by, seizing him by the arm or leg and para- 
lysing the limb by their touch, or knocking him down and 
beating him. Like most of the supernatural beings in this 
country they are coarse-feeders, and occasionally leave their 
sylvan home to banquet upon the plentiful supply of delica- 
cies provided for them in the Eayah villages. 

During a recent visit to Dervishkuoi, a young man seeing 
us reading from a Turkish book, begged that we would do 
something to cure his knee which had been struck and lamed 
by one of these nameless spirits whom he had accidentally 
disturbed in its occupation of feeding upon a heap of manure ; 
at the same time the lady of the house requested that we 
would ' read,' in order to banish a troublesome being who 
every night seized and nearly choked her in spite of the 
presence of various members of the family. Our proceedings 
in both cases were simple and, as it turned out, efficacious ; 
for each patient we recited some guttural gibberish in an im- 
posing tone, and on the knee of the young man we traced 



GO 



BULGARIAN SUPERSTITIONS. 



Chap. IV. 



in ink the figure of the fifth proposition of the First Book of 
Euclid, as the most effectual check to the further progress of 
any Bulgarian spirit. On our again passing through the 
village a few days later, we were delighted to hear that the 
old woman's sleep was no longer disturbed by invisible 
garotters, and that the young man was already able to walk a 
little, and going on most favourably. We were here cautioned 
not to pass a certain stream after nightfall, as it is haunted by 
a spirit in the form of a white horse, like the Scotch Kelpie 
or The O'Donoghue's steed of the lakes of Killarney. 

Enough has been said upon this subject to show that a 
comparison between the superstitions of the Bulgarians, and 
those of any other people (not of Slavonic race), will be much 
to the disadvantage of the former, who though tracing their 
origin to the snows of the North, preserve no vestige of that 
stern beauty found in the traditions of other Northern races ; 
and whose long residence in the East has not enabled them 
to graft upon their own sordid imaginings any of that fervid 
and glowing poetry with which Oriental legends describe the 
Halls of Eblis or the delights of Paradise. 

What a difference between the Bulgarian lamed by some 
foul spirit whom he had knocked up against as it was feeding 
on the midden, and the Turkish boy who attributes his 
paralysis to a touch of the pinion of an evil G-enie flying too 
close to the earth ! 

The Scandinavian Valhalla, with its carousing and feasting 
under the auspices of All-Father Odin, is material enough, 
but at least the banquet is the reward of heroes ; the Bul- 
garian does not even distinguish in his own mind between 
Heaven, Hell, and the Purgatory of the Greek Church, con- 
sidering the world beyond the grave as a species of chop- 



Chap. IV. NOTIONS OF A FUTURE STATE. 



61 



house in which the souls of the dead are perhaps but ill fed, 
and whither he can send contributions of baked meats by the 
simple process of leaving them upon the tombs of his defunct 
friends.* 



* This idea, almost "blasphemous as it appears in its enunciation, is but 
too truly that of the Bulgarians ; ask a peasant his idea of Heaven, he will 
tell you that "it is a place where you are very comfortable, and feed on 
sugared cakes ! " 



62 BULGARIAN SUPERSTITIONS. Chap. V. 



CHAPTER V. 

BULGAEIAN SUPERSTITIONS (continued). — MANNERS AND 
CUSTOMS, &C. 

Witches — Herbalist and poisoner — Prescriptions for a fever — Exorcism 
sought from the Turkish Hodja — Strictness of morals — Family jars — 
Birth and infancy — A suitor and his negotiations — The betrothal — 
The wedding — Dances — The last fashion — Death and burial — 
mourners. 

It is a natural consequence of superstitious beliefs so implicit 
and so well organized as those which amongst the Bulgarians 
form a second religion, differing from, but more deeply-rooted 
than, that of the Greek Church, that they should have their 
professed ministers. Wherever there is a chance of gain 
some one will present himself to profit by it, and as the most 
paying investment is the folly and credulity of mankind, 
quackery of all kinds will continue to flourish so long as 
there are fools upon the earth ; from Egyptian Thaumaturgy 
to Mr. Hume and the Davenport Brothers, from them to the 
Witch of Derekuoi, and from her to the Prospectus of an 
American Land Company, all is but an exemplification of 
the great truth that cunning will always find an easy prey 
in superstition and ignorance. 

In Bulgaria, where the recognized religion neither affords 
sufficient food for that craving after the marvellous and 
supernatural which is innate in the savage or but imper- 
fectly reclaimed mind, nor replaces this appetite by a more 
legitimate longing, it is not to be wondered at that super- 
stition steps in to supply the want by the means of male 



Chap. V. 



WITCHES. 



63 



sorcerers or female witches, who acid to their pretensions to 
occult power the profession of village doctor.* 

In every village there is an old woman learned in all 
ancient customs, ceremonies of divination, and in the worship 
of such powers as are anathematized by the Church ; able to 
propitiate or to combat the Kingdom of Darkness, acquainted 
with the official residence of Baba Mart, on familiar terms with 
Azrael, and the possessor of an unlimited quantity. of marifets 
or charms, from that which will bring rain to that which 
will exorcise the demon of fever ; able to cast spells which will 
cause their object to die the lingering death of the spell- 
bound, or cure him of the bite of a cheshme cat ; finally, the 
High Priestess of every pagan rite, and the first to kiss 
the hand of the Papas. 

Whatever she may have been formerly, the Bulgarian 
witch of this present day has but little resemblance to her 
sister of Europe two hundred years ago ; she has lost the art 
of flying through space upon a broomstick, nor does she 
attend the Sabbat on the Brocken — indeed, probably neither 
she nor her ghostly superiors (if the latter are genuine Bul- 
garian spirits) have ever heard of the existence of the Harz 
mountains — she is not the spouse of the Devil, but the most 
respected woman of her village ; vampires may be poisoned, 
or bottled and burnt, but the witch receives offerings of fowls, 
milk, and eggs, from her grateful or timorous fellow-villagers ; 
and in justice to her it must be allowed that she would be 
almost a greater loss than the Papas; for though like him 

* In the villages of Bulgaria, no licensed medical practitioners exist ; it 
is easy to imagine that in the case of a dangerous epidemic, plague, typhus, 
or cholera, this absence of physicians might "become a very serious evil to 
Europe. 



64 



BULGARIAN SUPERSTITIONS. Chap. V. 



she taxes the village, she occasionally renders good service in 
return by a knowledge of simples (a branch of medicine now 
too generally neglected) which effects cures apparently little 
less than marvellous. 

We trust to the indulgence of our readers to pardon us a 
slight digression involving a hypothesis. The Catholic clergy 
of the West, in their early struggles against classic and bar- 
barian paganism, anathematised the ancient gods, and stigma- 
tizing them as devils, declared that the false divinities whose 
images still live in marble in the museums of Europe, as 
well as the elementary spirits of barbarian superstition, were 
burning in Hell. The Byzantine clergy were not sufficiently 
powerful thus to crush the heathenism of their new converts, 
and, probably owing to the troubles caused by the Arabian and 
Ottoman invasion as well as to their own sophistic origin, were 
more anxious to put down schisms in their own body than to 
wage war against the latent memories of paganism. Even 
now the Greek Church, whilst launching its thunderbolts 
against the Bulgarian schism with one hand, amicably extends 
the other to the Bulgarian sorceress; perhaps the Papas, 
spiritual descendant of feeble Byzantium as the College of 
Cardinals is the representative of the powerful Roman Senate, 
hopes to find a rampart against Islamism in the ancient 
beliefs of the Bulgarians, for whilst he denounces it as a* 
deadly sin for a Christian to be exorcised by a Turkish 
Hodja, he not only tolerates but approves the spells of the 
witch. 

As the witch is on good terms with the clergy, respected 
and feared by the people, and stands in no danger of per- 
secution, she has no need to make a secret of a profession 
which she can exercise openly, and her only point of resem- 



Chap V. 



HERBALIST AND POISONER, 



05 



blance to the almost extinct wise women of Europe is her 
power of doing evil, which she sometimes redeems by ' white 
witchcraft ; ' at the festivals of which we have spoken, she is 
the chairwoman; by the aid of her marifets she assists the 
Bulgarian in his entry into and exit from the world, and is at 
once doctor, sorceress, and general reference-book of the 
village, forming the complement of the Papas, and occa- 
sionally even poaching upon his preserves. 

Is the Bulgarian ill, he sends for the witch ; has he lost 
some money, he sends for the witch ; is he going to give a 
feast or to die, he sends for the witch ; does he require a 
philtre, he sends for the witch ; does he wish to get rid of an 
enemy, the witch is still his resource ; in regard to the last 
exigency it may be remarked that the herbology of the witch 
renders her at least as dangerous as she can be useful. In 
our own village is a woman who is well known (indeed she 
herself makes no great secret of the matter) to have poisoned 
her first husband in order to marry a second ; the morals of 
the peasantry are far from stigmatizing this resource of feeble 
or cowardly wickedness, and in a country where autopsy is 
unknown, and where even murder by violence often goes un- 
punished, poison has a fair field and a great deal of favour ; 
the method is simple : the wife goes to the witch, pays a fee, 
explains the case, and receives an Hatch (literally, medicine) 
which she administers to her husband, and which is infinitely 
more effectual than the plan resorted to by more timorous 
consciences, that of tying a knot in their enemy's hair. 

The 'Evil Eye' is believed in by the genuine Bulgarians 
as well as by the Gagaous, with both of whom, as amongst 
the negroes of the Gaboon, all illnesses are considered as the 
effects of spells wrought by human or supernatural male- 

F 



66 



BULGARIAN SUPERSTITIONS. 



Chap. V. 



licence, and their Materia ]\Iedica is consequently (also like 
that of the Africans in question) a mixture of incantations, 
for the deception of the uninitiated, and the really efficacious 
use of simples. 

When a witch is called in as physician to a case of 
illness, her first care is to ascertain the gravity of the 
malady, its nature being of little importance, and this she 
discovers by the following ceremony : after the preliminary 
words of incantation she takes a long scarf in which a knot 
has been tied, and measures it on her arm from the elbow to 
the finger tips, and if the knot falls near the hand or on the 
fingers of the patient his illness is entirely imaginary, but if 
it touches the elbow he is condemned to death beyond the 
power of the Bulgarian Pharmacopoeia. 

As she has generally a certain practical knowledge of 
diseases and a kind of medical experience after her own 
fashion, she is occasionally able to judge the case correctly, 
and no doubt can make the knot fall where she chooses ; but 
nevertheless she is often mistaken, a circumstance which by 
no means lessens her prestige amongst the villagers. 

Our late landlord Tanez was given over by the witch and 
had made up his mind to die ; as his illness was merely the 
effect of accumulated over-doses of wine, a seidlitz powder 
which we administered very quickly put him on his' legs, 
and we rather gloried over the witch ; however, one day we 
said to him, a Well, Tanez, the witch has made a mistake this 
time, for you are just as well as ever you were." " No, no ; 
she has said I must die, and so I shall some day, you'll see." 

About six months afterwards Tanez kept his word, and the 
wise woman's prophecy was verified ! 

Another time the same great authority had told a poor 



Chap. Y. 



PRESCRIPTIONS FOR A FEVER, 



67 



fellow suffering from aggravated diphtheria that he had nothing 
the matter with him. and that he must go and work in the 
fields as usual ; with some difficulty we managed to get him 
to take our prescriptions, and to effect a perfect cure : his 
thanks were conveyed much after the manner of Tanez, <; You 
see, sir, the witch was right, for I am quite well now." 

When the gravity of the case is once decided, then, as 
every illness is the effect of spells of one kind or another, the 
patient must be cured by incantations or ' medicines ' which 
banish the demon possessing him ; some of these remedies 
are sufficiently original to be worth giving — for the benefit of 
the Faculty. Tertian fever is caused by a certain fly having 
settled upon the sick man, and the two prescriptions most in 
vogue are as follow : — 

1. Take a puppy dog under a month old, the younger the 
better, wash his hind quarters, and especially his left hind 
leg, in tepid water, which give as a draught to the patient. 

2. Take a snipe, boil it without plucking, and give the 
broth as a drink. 

The dried stomach of a stork is a sovereign cure for the 
effects of the evil eye, which is a great cause of mortality in 
Bulgaria.* 

Naturally enough, the witches are not disposed to be 
communicative on the subject of their secrets, and it is 



* Last year a woman applied to us for part of a stork for this purpose, 
but it was probably adruinistered too late, as the child died three days 
afterwards ; in this case the " evil eye " exactly resembled the Southern 
Italian Jettatura, the infant having sickened directly after a neighbour 
had said, " What a pretty child ! " But as far as we have been able to ascer- 
tain, the Neapolitan counter charms of spitting in the infant's face, or 
"facendo le corna," seem to be unknown in Bulgaria. 

F 2 



68 



BULGARIAN SUPERSTITIONS. 



Chap. V. 



therefore difficult to discover their pathology, but from what 
we know of Slavonic witchcraft in Kussia, Poland, and this 
country, we can affirm that their proceedings strongly 
resemble those of the wise men or women on the West coast 
of Africa. Here, as there, illness is merely a possession by an 
evil demon, and madness or idiocy is the result of the pre- 
sence in or on the body of a more than ordinarily powerful 
spirit, to exorcise whom it is neccessary to apply to a Turkish 
Hodja, both Papas and witch being powerless in such a 
case. 

A mad woman was lately taken to the Greek Monastery 
on Cape Emineh in Koumelia to be exorcised by the monks, 
who employed in vain a whole arsenal of pious weapons,* 
and she was finally led to the Hodja of Akindji, who speedily 
produced a favourable change in her mental health ; the 
relative, Dimitri of Dervishkuoi (from whom we heard the 
particulars), who ventured to give the patient into infidel 
hands, was punished by the Papas's refusing him the Com- 
munion this Easter. 

The witch is, however, more liberal than her colleague the 
Greek Priest, and will occasionally hand over to the Hodja a 
case which she considers hopeless, but she will not tolerate 
the competition of any M.R.C.S., and if such a person were 
to establish himself in a Bulgarian village he would probably 
fall a victim to the Hatch of the sorceress. 

Bulgarian morality t is tolerably good, for a people with 
whom religion has no real force, and is so much taken for 



* Amongst these remedies, an iron cross, heated nearly red-hot, was 
placed on the woman's breast and back, and a number of similar cruel 
nwifets (which Ave forbear to mention) were practised. 

t This word is here used in a specific, not a generic sense. 



PHAI>. V. 



BIRTH AND INFANCY. 



69 



granted, that the Papas administers tile Communion to young 
girls without previous confession, a privilege denied to 
married people; a reason for the comparative purity of 
morals may perhaps be found in the fact that previous to 
her marriage a bride goes through an ordeal such as that to 
which the ancient Queens of France were subjected. 0 wing- 
to this rule of morality, infanticide is terribly common with 
those women who form the exception, and is invariably 
considered by Mrs. Grundy as less culpable than the fault of 
which it is a consequence. 

As for the ties of family, which are so often represented 
by European tourists as entirely absent amongst the Turks, 
it is sufficient to say that almost every Bulgarian" family 
rejoices in a general and daily interchange of blows, in 
which the weakest, the women, naturally go to the wall. 

From the cradle to the grave the Bulgarian is haunted 
by strange customs and observances such as are little known 
in Europe. When a child is born, the witch, who is present 
officially, brings a reaping hook into the room, and then 
proceeds to rub the infant all over with salt, and to fumigate 
the room in order to drive away all intrusive evil spirits from 
the mother and child. 

With the exception of this bath of salt, a Bulgarian child 
is never washed until he attains the age of seven years ; and 
for the first years of his life, a piece of garlic (in the case of 
a girl, one or two coins) is tied upon his head to preserve 
him from the evil eye. As soon as he is able to work, he 
is surrounded by superstitions which he is obliged to observe : 
if he fetches water he must throw away some of it ; if he 
brings flour from the mill he must burn incense under it; in 
short, he cannot take a step without coming in contact with a 



70 



BULGARIAN SUPERSTITIONS. 



Chap. V. 



superstition or an adet (custom)* which, if not respected, will 
avenge itself on him, and, without counting the spirits who 
lie in wait for him in the forest or at the fountain, his life 
is filled with fears which go far to compensate for its great 
enjoyments of eating, drinking, and dancing. 

When a young man wishes to marry he speaks to his 
parents, who arrange the matter with those of the lady 
chosen, and Swaty^ are sent to propose in due form; the 
amount of the corbeille is settled, as well as that of the Baseh 
Parasi or head-money presented by the suitor to the mother 
of his intended, and then the gody or betrothal takes place ; 
this is a ceremony of great interest to all Bulgarians, who 
have the same tastes as those commemorated in the songs 
about their great heroes, of which the constant chorus is — 

4 Pak jede i pije,' 

4 And he eats and drinks.' 

The Gody is usually held at the house of the girl's parents, 
where the elder guests sit around a cloth spread on the floor 
and covered with various dishes all strongly flavoured with 
garlic, whilst the wine-jug circulates freely ; in another room 
the young people indulge in a similar repast, and afterwards 
dance outside the house, the girls singing songs at intervals. 
The young man then brings in his presents, which consist of 
various articles of feminine clothing, several pairs of slippers, 
bracelets, ear-rings, a head-dress and necklace of gold or 



* A short list of Adets is given in the preceding chapter. 

f For this word there is no exact equivalent in English ; the Swaty are 
friends of the young man who act as his proxies in the delicate matter of 
' proposing ' — to the parents of the lady however, never to herself ; the latter 
ceremony, which is so much thought of in England, not being customary 
in Bulgaria. 



Chap. V. 



THE BETROTHAL. 



71 



silver coins,* and a silver girdle : the value of these offerings 
is discussed by the father of the girl, and a fresh bargain 
ensues, the suitor adding coin by coin to the necklace till 
his future father-in-law is satisfied, and when this result is 
attained all the finery is placed in a tekneh, a wooden dish 
used for making bread and for a cradle. Then all the guests 
set to work again at the banquet, 

' Jedet i pijet,' 

' They eat and drink,' 

till daylight dawns upon the many tipsy and the very few 
sober. The next day the young lady puts on all the presents 
of her fiance', and is considered as ' engaged.' 

This betrothal is in no ways a religious ceremony, and 
leaves it open to either party to break off the engagement, 
but such a rupture seldom occurs ; the marriage never takes 
place within six months of the Gody, and is often delayed for 
two or even three years. 

With some rare exceptions these arrangements are by 
no means love-matches ; the young man wishes to establish 
himself as head of a household, and chooses a wife as he 
would a yoke of buffaloes, looking upon her as a machine for 
labour and the probable mother of sons who Avill in time be 
able to work for him, and whom he can beat as his father 
beat him until he became too strong to permit it, — for a 
Bulgarian son when he grows up makes no scruple of re- 
turning with interest the blows received from his father. 
Thus the bride is chosen, not for the beauty of her more or 
less Kalmuck features, but for the muscular strength which 
will render her valuable as a beast of burden. 



* The usual amount given is about eight Turkish Liras. 



72 



BULGARIAN SUPERSTITIONS. 



Chap. V. 



Sometimes you may meet with a Bulgarian Lindoro who 
translates his passion into the music of the Graida, or courts 
some stalwart Kosina by playfully throwing lumps of mud 
at her as they meet at the fountain, or who buys an enormous 
pair of boots and spurs to attract the attention of his beloved, 
and proves the strength of his affection by treading upon 
her toes. 

But Lindoro here, like the true Lindoro everywhere, is 
poor, and perhaps seeks by a disinterested love to attract 
into his own purse a few of the zecchini which he needs : at 
any rate it is no blasphemy to doubt the purity of his motives 
in a country where a powerfully-built wife is a good invest- 
ment, instead of being an expensive luxury* 

Our servant Theodore sighs for Miss Tuturitza, the 
daughter of our neighbour Kodja Kostantia, ex-assassin, 
and landowner of Derekuoi; but who can say that the 
idea of some buried pots of money, gained on the highroad, 
does not furnish at least as much fuel to his flame as the 
personal or mental attractions of his lady-love ? 

The marriage (Swadba) is prepared for by the bride- 
groom's installation in his new house, and the purchase of 
various domestic animals, especially a pair of oxen or 
buffaloes, without the possession of which the match would 
be considered a very poor one for the lady, if not entirety out 
of the question ; when all is ready he sends his parents or his 
Swaty to announce that he wishes the ceremony to take 
place in two or three weeks. 

During the week preceding the marriage, which is always 
celebrated on a Sunday and generally in the dead season,* 

* The term is not here used in the London sense, but means the time 
when there is but little work going on in the fields. 



Chap. V. 



THE WEDDING. 



73 



the parents of the bride and bridegroom prepare the furni- 
ture, &c., of the new menage, the girls of the village dance 
before the house of the bride, and the youths pay the same 
compliment to the bridegroom. On the Friday before the 
marriage the presents, hung on a cord, are exhibited in the 
bride's house, and she herself has her hair plaited into 
innumerable minute tresses ; then she takes, for the first and 
last time in her life* a complete bath, whilst her two brides- 
maids, in the same primitive costume as the bather, look on, 
but without sharing in the ablution. 

On the eventful Sunday, when the Papas is ready, the 
ceremony takes place in the church, if there be one, or other- 
wise in the bridegroom's house, and after the marriage the 
happy couple are led in procession to the mansion of the 
bride's father, where the young girls dance, corn is sprinkled 
over the husband and wife, and the latter, her face covered 
with a veil (often scarlet), kisses the hands of all the married 
women of the village, receiving in return a fig from each of 
them. 

Then all the usual feasting goes on, and all the guests 
drink more than is good for them, 

' Jedet i pijet,' 

and the married couple are shut up in their own house for a 
week, during which time they may neither go out nor receive 
visits. 

* Horrible as this statement seems, it is the literal truth ; till the age 
of. seven years a child must not he touched by water, and although after 
that period the face, hands, and feet may be washed, the cleansing of the 
whole body would be ' chok gunah,' a great sin, and is never practised by 
either male or female Bulgarians, with the solitary exception above 
mentioned. 



7-1 



BULGARIAN SUPERSTITIONS. 



Chap. V. 



When this period of imprisonment is over, the married 
women fetch the bride, who carries two water buckets, to the 
fountain, round which she walks three times preceded by 
the oldest of the women, then the contents of the buckets are 
thrown over her, she kisses hands all round, and as;ain 
receives a present of figs. 

The same day she pays a visit to her mother, and is hence- 
forward considered as a member of the sisterhood of married 
women. 

The married women are not generally allowed to join in 
the village dance, although some of the bolder spirits 
amongst them occasionally do so ; this dance which is called 
in Eussian Bitchoh, is here styled 'Horo' (Xo/309), and 
strongly resembles the ' Eomaika's dull round.' A circle of 
dancers is formed, the girls and men holding each other by 
the belt or girdle, and going round and round for hours to 
the music of the gaida ; the motion is slow, monotonous, and 
ungraceful, but the coup d'oeil from a distance is picturesque 
enough, from the gaudy colours of the female dresses. In our 
village the feminine taste for ornament has invented a new 
head-dress, consisting of pieces of the English or French 
newspapers received by us, which are in great request by the 
village beauties as 'Bonjouks' or ' jewels;' the portions most 
sought after are the headings or the advertisements in big- 
capitals, so that the Derekuoi young ladies may often be seen 
wearing on their foreheads such placards as the following ; 
< The Times,' < Mort aux Eats,' ' Pall Mall Gazette,' 1 Vente a 
cause de Faillite,' ' Holloway's Pills,' ' Plus d'huile de foie de 
Morue,' 6 A vendre a grand rabais,' ' Mine. Elise, Marchande de 
Modes,' and a host of other typographical varieties which are 
highly prized in the first circles of the Derekuoi fashionables. 



Chap. V. 



A DEATH. 



7.3 



At the end of every life, whether one of hardship and 
labour like the Turks, or feasting and idling like the Bul- 
garians, comes Death ; but just as the latter considers 
baptism not as the admission of the infant into the Church 
of Christ, but as a mere sprinkling with water for which the 
Papas receives so much, so he looks upon death as the 
discharge of a mere animal function. 

When he is given over by the witch, he prepares for the 
passage from life to an unknown world with a sang froid 
strongly resembling courage, but which is merely the result 
of a fatalism arising from apathy ; he bargains with the 
Papas as to the price of his burial, orders the mortuary 
feasts, and in short prepares himself very quietly to repose in 
the grave which is already dug for him. During all this 
time the room is filled with women, shrieking and groaning 
in a manner sufficient almost to kill a healthy man. 

At the moment of death all pots, kettles, and other 

utensils are turned upside-down, in order to prevent the soul 

of the departed taking refuge in one of them and therefrom 

commencing a system of annoyance against the family; 

candles or tapers are lit around the body, and the head is 

dressed with flowers ; a great Eikon (picture of a Saint) is 

placed upon the breast, the body is clothed in its best clothes, or 

in some specially made for the purpose, and a pair of slippers, 

whilst all the members of the family run outside and scream 

a lamentation which is generally after this fashion : — * 

"Oh! Tanaz! Boze ! Boze! 
Who will cut wood for us now *? 

(Shrieks and howls.) 

* This song is a literal translation of a death-song sung at a house close 
to ours ; they are always on the same model, lamenting the loss of the 
services of the deceased. 



76 



BULGAEIAX SUPERSTITIONS. 



Chap. V. 



" Who will kill the sheep, 
Or who will take care of the poor buffaloes ? 

(Shrieks and howls.) 

' ' Who will carry the corn to the mill ? 
Who will heat ns as yon used to do, 
Oh Tanaz ? " 

(Shrieks and howls.) 

Five minutes afterwards an araba with a couple of oxen or 
buffaloes is brought round,* containing a ladder, on which 
the corpse is placed* without either shroud or coffin ; but only 
two men accompany it, one to drive, the other to act as sexton : 
arrived at the cemetery, the body is thrown into the grave, 
a few spadefuls of earth thrown upon it, perhaps a stone 
placed, and all is over. Xo burial-service is ever said, for 
although a minimum sum of forty piastres must be paid to 
the Papas for every burial, he never appears, nor in any way 
officiates ; if the family choose to have masses said for the 
soul of the dead thev must make a new bargain, but in the 
country it is not much the fashion. 

The same evening there is a great Death Feast of relations 
and friends in the house of mourning, which is repeated in 
ten days, and again at the expiration of one month, three 



* Of course if death occur during the night, burial is put off till dawn ; 
but owing to the terribly hasty plan of interring before the body is cold, 
premature burial must be frightfully common ; two instances have oc- 
curred, in which we were as sure as (not being medical men) we could 
well be, that the supposed dead men were merely in a state of trance or 
lethargy, and did all in our power to stop the burial, but in vain. Some 
years since a man contrived to rise from his shallow grave, came back to 
his home, and gave his wife a tremendous beating to prove his identity, 
and to punish her for being in such a hurry to get rid of him ; but a few 
months afterwards he died again, and that time his disconsolate widow 
took precautions which prevented him ever re-appearing to trouble her 
again. 



Chap. V. 



MOURNERS. 



77 



months, six months, a year, and three years ; these are called 
in Bulgarian Pominki, commemorations. If the dead man 
leaves a widow, she goes to his grave every morning for forty 
days and throws water over it "so that he may not die of 
thirst." Besides the Pominki, the Bulgarians hold a feast 
in the cemetery on Palm Sunday, and after much eating and 
drinking leave the remains upon the graves of their friends, 
who, they are persuaded, will eat them during the night ; 
on Easter Monday an Easter Egg is placed on each grave. 

The Bulgarian mourning, which is worn only by women, 
consists in wearing every article of clothing inside out ; as 
with us, it varies in duration according to the consanguinity 
of the relation lost ; that of a widow is fixed at one year. 



i 8 



BULGARIAN SONGS. 



Chap. VI. 



CHAPTER VI. 

BULGAEIAN SONGS. 

Spurious literature — Bulgarian language ■ — Deli Marko's match with the 
Evil One — Philip Junak's boasting — Deli Marko's performance — 
Joanczo Krym Pehlivanczo — Preparations for the encounter — The 
Czar's bear overcome — King Marko — Arrival at Philip the Magyar's 
— A long swim — Combat with a Lomota — The hero's return — 
Seferina rejected — Legends of other races compared. 

Like all people who have neither a literature nor even a 
perfectly formed language, the Bulgarians have preserved 
but vague traditions of bygone ages, and if a Bulgarian His- 
tory founded upon these and their songs were written, it 
would be a remarkably eccentric one, as may be judged from 
the specimens of poetry given in this chapter. The Servians 
and even the Montenegrins, as well as the Bosniacs, in pre- 
serving an aristocracy have preserved their history, for in 
the Court or amongst the followers of the Servian and Monte- 
negrin prince or noble, and of the Bosniac bey, there were 
always men who, like the Celtic bards, transmitted from 
generation to generation the deeds of the families to which 
they were attached, and amongst Slavonic nations the deeds 
of the nobles formed the history of the people. 

The old Bulgarian language was never a written one, and 
it is only in our own clay that a few works have appeared, 
printed in characters which are a pleasing mixture of the 
two alphabets respectively used in Bussia for lay and eccle- 
siastical books, and which are self-styled Bulgarian ; a 



Chap. VI. 



SPURIOUS LITERATURE. 



71) 



critique of these works would probably be of little general 
interest, and we confine ourselves to stating that the lan- 
guage in which they are written is not understood by the 
people, even if it be intelligible to the ' literary men' of 
Bulgaria. They consist for the most part of school-books, 
in which Russian and Sacred History are inextricably en- 
tangled, books of prayer, and a large volume of Bulgarian 
songs, traditions, manners and customs, printed in Servia; 
from this last volume we borrow one line : — 

< Deli Marko,' < Mad Marko,' 

chauged into 'Dininy* Marko/ ' Marko the Magnificent,' 
which will be sufficient to show the alterations made in the 
old songs. 

Our chief reasons for not troubling our readers with any 
extracts from this collection are, that there are plenty of ori- 
ginal and unadulterated songs amongst the Bulgarians, and 
that the people themselves deny the authenticity of the Servian 
versions, saying when they are read to them e Toi Arnaout- 
skie Piesni,' ' these are Albanian songs ; ' and we shall 
therefore have the honour of introducing some songs ' never 
before published/ either in England or elsewhere, and which 
are translated exactly word for word, f 

* Critics may tell us that ' Dimny ' means £ proud,' but according to our 
knowledge of Slavonic idioms, we fancy that the epithet ' magnificent ' is 
more applicable ; 4 Dimny ' is (to coin a word) a Cossackism for ' durnny,' 
the Cossacks always changing u into i ; still severer critics may possibly 
derive the word in question from Dyrn, smoke, in which case they can 
translate Dimny Marko as Smoked Marko. 

f Even for those who thoroughly understand Slavonic languages and 
idioms there is a great difficulty to be encountered in Bulgarian, for an 
immense number of Slavonic words, while retaining their original form, 
have an entirely different signification, e. g. : — 

[Bulgarian 



80 



BULGARIAN SONGS. 



Chap. VI. 



A word upon the Bulgarian language and traditions ; the 
language as spoken and sung is by no means that of the 
books newly invented ; it is a strange mixture of Turkish and 
Persian with Slavonic, and contains many words of Italian 
and Greek origin, and from other European languages : the 
most curious peculiarity is that not only Turkish adjectives 
and substantives are used, but also verbs, and the Turkish 
inflections of tense, mood, &c, are used with verbs of purely 
Slavonic origin ; those who are acquainted with Oriental and 
Slavonic tongues may find some instances of this in the song- 
given in Bulgarian in the Appendix : it is constantly done 
when the singer wishes to render his style peculiarly 



The Bulgarian historical traditions, except in the form of 
songs, are not numerous ; the following is one of the most 
curious : — 

Once upon a time the world was peopled only by heroes 
and Zmieje (dragons), and of all the former Deli or Krai 
(King) Marko was by far the stoutest and strongest. One 
day the Devil was amusing himself with his great mace of 
wood bound with iron, of the weight of 100 okes (280 lbs.), 
throwing it up into the air and catching it again with one 
hand. Deli Marko found him thus employed and wished him 
good morning very politely. 

"Hosh geldin," i Welcome,' said his Majesty. 

" Hosh bouldouk," ' Well found,' replied the hero. 



elegant. 



Bulgarian words. 
Dumat 



Meaning in Slavonic. 



Meaning in Bulgarian. 



Czy 
Pravit 
Na pravit 



To say 
To mend 



To think 
If 



To speak. 
And. 
To do. 
To make. 



In Polish however, na prawic 



is used for 1 to menrl.' 



Chap. VI. 



A MATCH WITH THE EVIL ONE. 



81 



After these and other necessary compliments, Deli Marko 
asked the Devil what he was doing there. 

" You see, I am practising throwing this mace into the air 
and catching it : it's for the PeJilivanlik (Championship)." 

" Let's try together," suggested Deli Marko. 

" With all my heart, go and take your place." And the 
Devil hurled his mace 100 yards, but Deli Marko caught it 
in the air like a cricket-ball. 

" Bravo indeed," cried Satan, clappiug his hands, " it's your 
turn now, throw the mace for me to catch." 

But Deli Marko let the Devil's mace lie on the ground 
and took up his own, which was also of wood and iron and 
weighed 300 okes ; this he pitched with a good swing, and 
the poor Devil, trying to catch it, was knocked down, and a 
good deal bruised. Deli Marko took up the mace of his un- 
lucky competitor, threw it up to the sky, where it stuck, 
and walked quietly away from the Bulgarian Beaufort House, 
whistling an air. 

The Devil went back to his own dominions, very sore from 
his bruises and his defeat in the Athletic Sports, and set about 
forging an iron tube, which he loaded with a little dust from the 
infernal smithy, and a leaden bullet. When these were ready 
he appeared upon earth again and called upon Deli Marko. 

" Good morning, Deli Marko." 

" Hosh geldin." 

" Hosh bouldouk." 

" Come, Deli Marko," quoth the Devil, you beat me the 
other day, and you caught my mace which weighs 1 00 okes ; 
do you think you can catch this little ball which weighs 
two drachms?" 

" There's my hand," said Deli Marko, laughing very dis- 

G 



82 



BULGARIAN SONGS. 



Chap. YI. 



dainfully; "throw your little ball, and let's see whether I 
can't catch it ! " 

Then the Devil took his tube, lit the powder (perhaps 
with a spark from his tail), and the bullet struck Deli Marko 
in the palm of the hand, perforating it completely; Deli 
3Iarko looked sadly at the wound, and sighed out, "ZSow that 
guns are invented, this earth is no place for heroes any 
longer ! " and as there was a dragon passing, he called him 
up, got on his back, and flew away for ever ; the same day 
all the heroes followed his example, and that is the reason 
that there are now neither dragons nor heroes in the 
country. 

Here we see Deli Marko, the hero par excellence of 
Bulgaria, giving utterance to a sentiment very like that 
of Bayard and many other preux chevaliers; but we shall 
see him immediately in his true character, in his affair with 
Hero Philip. 

Many of the Bulgarian songs are translated from the 
Turkish, and in these the original is much injured and dis- 
figured. Those we have chosen are genuine Slavonic and 
such as best depict the character of the Bulgarians and their 
ideas as to the attributes of a hero. 




Chap. VI. 



PHILIP JUNAK'S BOASTING. 



83 



DELI MABKO AXD PHILIP JUNAK* 



A Song sung during the KuLADA.f 



Philip Junak is boasting, 

Hey Kulada moy Kulada ! 
At the Siedanki J before the maidens, 

Hey Kulada moy Kulada ! 
At the Bielanki § before the women, 

Hey Kulada moy Kulada ! 
At the Tukhan(| before the young men, 

Hey Kulada moy Kulada ! 
That he has chained up three monsters. ^ 

Hey, &c. 

This Deli Marko learns, 

Hey, &c. 

And he seeks for him 

Hey, &c. 



* Dell means mad in Turkish and is not an opprobrious term, being 
applied to persons of rash, and fiery courage. Junak is Bulgarian for 
hero. 

f The Kulada is the feast of the winter solstice ; see Superstitions. 
X Xocturnal festivals, when the young girls dance around large fires. 
§ Where the women sit spinning. 
|| The public-house ; the men's usual club. 

IT In Bulgarian, three ' Zmieje,' a name wrongly given by the Bulgarians 
to all dragons ; the Zmieja of Polish legends is an enormous and hideous 
blind serpent which darts fire and smoke but cannot fly like the dragon, 
who is called 'Smok.' The Bulgarians do not appear to distinguish 
between the two ; but as in all their traditions the dragon is the friend and 
often the favourite steed of their heroes, it is possible that it was three 
'Zmieje' that Philip Junak chained up and not three 'Smoky,' unless he 
wished to break in some of the latter for riding ; or the three monsters 
may have belonged to the stud of dragons of Deli Marko, which would 
explain that hero's wrath ; but the story seems to negative this hypothesis, 
and to show that the whole account given by Philip Junak was a vain 
boast. 

G 2 



BULGARIAN SONGS. Chap. VI. 

At the Siedanki before the maidens, 

Hey, &c. 

At the Bielanki before the women, 

Hey, &c. 

In the Tnkhan before the young men. 

Hey, &c. 

What the young men say to him : 

Hey, &c. 

" Where is Philip Junak ? " 

Hey, &c. 

" He is staying there on the mountain 

Hey, &c. 

Towards the setting of the sun (the West) 

Hey, &c. 

The gates of Dzym Dzyr." * 

Hey, &c. 

And he goes there, Deli Marko, 

Hey, &c. 

And the Conacf of Philip Junak 

Hey, &c. 

Deli Marko finds it. 

Hey, &c. 

He finds it, and calls, 

Hey, &c. 

Deli Marko calls him, 

Hey, &c. 

Pie calls him and knocks at the gates. 

Hey, &c. 

Philip Junak his gates of Dzym Dzyr opens not, 

Hey, &c. 

And he pushes them, Deli Marko, the gates of Dzym Dzyr of 
Philip Junak, 

Hey, &c. 

And he gives a kick to the iron J gates 

Hey, &c. 

And he sends them up to the blue sky 

Hey, &c. 

When he gives them his kick. 

Hey, &c. 



* Dzym Dzyr is a species of wood unknown to us. 

f Palace. $ Here demir (Turkish), iron, is substituted for dzym dzyr. 



Chap. VI. DELI MARKO'S PERFORMANCE. 85 

And into the palace of Philip Junak Deli Marko enters,* 

Hey, &c. 

But Philip Junak comes not down. 

Hey, &c. 

But the wife of Philip conies down, 

Hey , &c. 

Conies down straight towards Deli Marko, 

Hey, &c. 

And she wears a plume ; 

Hey, &c. 

And he snatches it, Deli Marko ; 

Hey, &c. 

Then Philip Junak comes down 

Hey, &c. 

And he claps his hands for the wrestling, f 

Hey, &c. 

They seize one another and they wrestle, 

Hey, &c. 

With Deli Marko Philip Junak, 

Hey, &c. 

And he seizes him (does) Deli Marko, Philip Junak 

Hey, &c. 

And ties his hands behind him, Deli Marko, 

He} 7 , &c. 

And brings him to the Siedanki before the maidens : 

Hey, &c. 

" Is it thou, Philip, who boastedst 

Hey, &c. 

" Before the maidens at the Siedanki, 

Hey, &c. 

" Where then hast thou chained up the three monsters? " 

Hey, &c. 

And from there he takes him out and brings him 

Hey, &c. 

To the Bielanki before the women, 

Hey, &c. 

And asks him, " Is it thou, Philip, 

Hey, &c. 

" Who boastedst 

Hey, &c. 



* The literal translation would be " crawls in ; " see the original Bul- 
garian of this song as given in the Appendix C. 
f This signal is still used in Bulgarian wrestling. 



85 



BULGAKIAN SONGS. Ciiap. VI. 



" Of having chained up three monsters ? " 

Hey, &c. 

And from there he takes him, Deli Marko, and brings him 

Hey, &c. 

To the Tukhan before the young men, 

Hey, &c. 

And asks him, "Is it thou, Philip Junak, 

Hey. &c. 

" Who boastedst in the Tukhan 

Hey, &c. 

" That thou hast chained up tight three monsters ? " 

Hey, &c. 

Philip Junak begs and prays Deli Marko, 

Hey, &c. 

" Let me go, please, 0 Deli Marko ! " 

Hey, &c. 

But Deli Marko does not let go Philip Junak, 

Hey, &c. 

Did not let him go — hung him ! 

Hey Kulada moy Kulada ! 

We see that the Bulgarian legendary hero is tolerably 
conceited and cruel by nature, not to mention his unknightly 
manner of behaviour towards ladies; perhaps he snatched 
the plume from Mrs. Philip to make her husband fight, 
but he might have obtained this result in a different 
manner. We shall see in another song that he is decidedly 
gluttonous, and not more gallant than in this one; but 
before that allow us to present to you, our readers, a gentle- 
man who yields in nothing to Deli Marko, and who is even 
more of a Bulgarian, as he appears to have lived at an 
earlier period; we beg to present Joanczo Krym Pehliv- 
anczo. 



Chap. VI. 



JOANCZO'S PREPARATIONS. 



87 



JOANCZO KRYM PEHLIVANCZO * 



Joanczo Krym Pehlivanczo to his mother he says, 

" Oh mother, oh my mother, my reputation is declining ! 

So tell the furrier to make me a Kalpakf 

Of nine wolf-skins and the tenth (skin) of a bear." 

And she goes, the mother — the mother of Joanczo, 

To the furrier that he might make the Kalpak 

Of nine wolf-skins and the tenth (the skin) of a bear. 

Joanczo Krym Pehlivanczo to his mother he says, 

" I am going to the furrier, that he may make me 

A pair of trowsers for wrestling ; for a firman from the Czar 

Is come to me, and commands me to wrestle with his Pehlivans ; 

And I am going to wrestle with the Pehlivans of the Czar, 

And the Pehlivans of the Czar are bloodthirsty bears." 

The mother says to Joanczo, " Do not go, my son, 
Nine Pehlivans have gone to the Czar 
And the nine were eaten by the bears ! " 

Joanczo to his mother he says, " Open the Hungarian trunk 

And look there for a handsome suit of clothes, 

In order to set out for the Czar's, and to fight his bears ; 

In order that the bears may not kill me, 

And that I may not be ashamed before the Czar." 

And Joanczo Krym Pehlivanczo to his mother he says, 
" Bake me nine ovenfuls of bread, 
And kill me nine fat cows, 

And knock me in the heads of nine barrels of wine." 

And Joanczo eats the nine ovenfuls of bread, 
And he eats the nine fat cows, 
And he drinks the nine barrels of wine, 
And he will set out for the Czar's to wrestle. 



* Joanczo is the diminutive of Joan, John ; Pehlivan (Turkish) is a 
champion wrestler, the termination czo being added probably to enable 
them to pronounce the whole title ore rotundo ; how Jack or Johnny 
became champion of the Crimea is unknown both to us and the Bulgarians. 

f A Bulgarian cap, usually made of sheepskin. 



88 



BULGARIAN SONGS. 



Chap. VI. 



And lie eat the nine ovenfuls of bread, 
And he eat the nine fat cows, 
And he drank the nine barrels of wine, 
And he set out for the Czar's to wrestle. 

Joanczo arrives at the Czar's. 

The Czar sends his black Chinguine* to announce, 

By sound of trumpet, the combat. 

And he cries and proclaims 

Three days and three nights, 

" Let great and small assemble 

On the fields or the mogila,f 

For a great wrestling will take place 

Between Joanczo Kryrn Pehlivanczo 

And the bloodthirsty bear of the Czar ! " 

And great and small they assemble 

On the fields and on the mogila, 

And the regiment of black gipsies is there. 

And nine black men guard (the bear) with the curved steel, 

And nine black men with chains of steel 

Conduct him, the terrible bear ! 

And the chains were loosened, 

And the bear utters a cry, 

At this cry the earth trembles, 

And the heavens thunder as he utters it. 

Joanczo Krym Pehlivanczo was afraid when he saw this bear, 
But he hid his tears from the Czar 
That the Czar might not laugh at him. 

And they catch hold of one another, the bear of blood 

And Joanczo Krym Pehlivanczo. 

Three days and three nights they wrestle, 

Neither the bear falls, nor Joanczo falls ; 

Where Joanczo holds the black blood flows, 

Where the bear holds the white flesh flies. 

Three days and three nights they wrestle, 

Neither Joanczo falls, nor the bear falls. 

The Czar says to Joanczo, " There you are, then, 
Joanczo Krym Pehlivanczo, 

* Chinguine, gipsy. 

f Mogila, tombs; the tumuli or harrows so abundant in European 
Turkey, 



Chap. VI. 



THE BEAR OVERCOME. 



89 



Thou wilt die of thy wounds, 
And my bear will not ! " 

Joanczo Krym Pehlivanczo is very angry. 

He catches a good hold of the bear, 

Lifts him up to the blue sky, 

And dashes him against the earth ; 

And in four he breaks him, 

And the four pieces bury themselves 

In four holes in the ground. 

Then the Czar was afraid of Joanczo Krym Pehlivanczo. 

11 In future, Joanczo, 

If you kill a man 

You are absolved beforehand 

From all guilt of murder." 

And he commands his regiment of blacks, 

"Bring directly to Joanczo Krym Pehlivanczo 

Nine heavy mule-loads of gold 

As a bakshish for Joanczo." 

And directly were brought 

The nine heavy mule-loads of gold 

As a bakshish to Joanczo, 

And were given 

To Joanczo Krym Pehlivanczo. 

And he goes off, J oanczo Krym Pehlivanczo, 

With his nine heavy loads of gold ; 

And he arrives, Joanczo Krym Pehlivanczo, 

At his dearly-loved mother's. 

And he calls his mother, 

Joanczo Krym Pehlivanczo, 

" Come down then, mother, and take 

These nine heavy mule-loads of gold." 

And the mother of Joanczo Krym Pehlivanczo comes down, 

And she sees the nine heavy mule-loads of gold. 

" Bre ! * Joanczo Krym Pehlivanczo ! 

Thou hast not been to the Czar's to wrestle, 

But thou hast been at some Haydutluk, f 

And thou hast robbed the Czar 

Of these nine heavy mule-loads of gold ! " 



* Bre, a Turkish exclamation of astonishment. 

t Haydutluk (Turkish), brigandage, highway robbery. 



90 



BULGARIAN SONGS. 



Chap. VI. 



" The Czar gave them to me, " says Joanczo Krym Pehlivanczo, 
" And more than that, he has allowed me 
To kill any man 
That I choose. 

Such is the permission he has given to Joanczo Krym Pehlivanczo, 
That is to say, to me." 

The Czar in this song is probably some Caesar of Byzan- 
tium, and Joanczo is doubtless some big barbarian Bulgarian 
who really existed ; as for his enormous appetite, those who 
know the Slavs will agree that their bards have not much 
need to exaggerate this point, to make it seem monstrous 
or heroic. After all, poor Joanczo is a very material hero. 



KING MAEKO AND THE DAUGHTEE OF PHILIP 
THE MAGYAR. — (Hungarian.) 



King Marko the foreigner 
Throws up his grey falcon 
In the Palace of Philip the Magyar. 

It perches on the knee of Philip the Magyar 
And sees seventy-seven Kings 
Who are eating and drinking. 

And King Marko stops on the threshold 

And whistles his grey falcon from the knee of Philip the Magyar. 

It perches on the knee of King Marko, 

And says to King Marko, 

" In the Palace of Philip the Magyar 

There are seventy- seven Kings eating and drinking." 

King Marko stays on the threshold 
And says, " Give me the grey horse." 
And he mounts the grey horse. 
The King Marko gives a battle horse, 

(There are evidently some verses wanting about here, but 
no one in this neighbourhood knows of their existence.) 



Chap. VI. 



KING MARKO'S ARRIVAL. 



91 



***** 
Let us go to the Palace of Philip the Magyar, 
And the fair Seferina, daughter of Philip the Magyar, we will take. 

The King Marko says to his comrade, 

" We will go to the Palace of Philip the Magyar, 

And we will take of Philip Magyarina 

The lovely daughter Seferina.* 

***** 

(Here again verses appear to be missing.) 

King Marko goes to the Castle of Philip Magyar ; 

Philip Magyar says to the seventy-seven King3, 

" When King Marko arrives 

And dismounts, stand on the threshold 

And take his horse from him, "but do 

Not salute him, King Marko ; 

You do nothing but eat and drink, 

You are only a set of blackguards ! " f 

King Marko arrives at the gates of Philip Magyar ; 

King Marko calls aloud at the gates of Philip Magyar ; 

Seventy-seven heroes are eating and drinking, 

And do not allow King Marko to pass. 

King Marko gives a kick to the gates of Dzym Dzyr, 

Breaks them, and enters. 

The seventy-seven Kings place themselves on the threshold, 
And say to him 'Bouyour,'^ and take his horse, and walk it up 
and down. 

King Marko sits down near the Sofra (table) 
And he eats and drinks. 
King Marko sees the fair maid Seferina, 
She comes, but she does not give him wine.§ 
Philip Magyar from his Palace he says, 
" When you go, King Marko, across 



* This is the only rhyme in the song, and seems to be much admired, 
for it is repeated on every possible occasion. 

f It seems difficult to account for this sudden burst of unparliamentary 
language on the part of Philip, unless the seventy-seven kings were all 
Bulgarians, in which case he probably found he was being eaten out of 
house and home. 

t ' Bouyour,' a Turkish expression of politeness, * pray enter.' 

§ A girl's giving wine to a suitor is a sign that he pleases her. 



92 



BULGARIAN SONGS. 



Chap. VI. 



The sea three hundred hours, and you 

Disembark in the island of Kierspiczensk, 

And you take from the tree of Kierspiczensk 

Three apples, and bring them 

And place them on the table for dessert, 

Then you will have done * 

If you wish to have my daughter Seferina, 

Mount your horse and let us see if you arrive 

At the island of Kierspiczensk." 

This hero, King Marko, springs upon his horse 

And he swims the three hundred hours of sea 

And lands in the island of Kierspiczensk. 

A Lomotaf attacks him, and swallows 

The half of his horse. 

The horse says to him, to the King Marko, 

" If, 0 King Marko ! 

Thou hast any wit, thou wilt hit 

The Lomota on the head." 

King Marko hits the Lomota on the head, 

And chains him with a chain behind the horse, 

And drags the Lomota behind him. 

Then he tears up the tree by the roots, 

Puts it under his arm, and swims 

The three hundred hours of sea, 

And arrives at the Castle of Philip Magyar. 

Philip Magyar from his Castle 

Looks over the boundless plain 

Through the mist, and he says, 

" Will King Marko be drowned 

In swimming the three hundred hours of sea ? " 

But behold ! he is not drowned, 

And behold ! he brings the tree under his arm, 

And the Lomota he drags behind him. 

Philip the Magyar then says, " Go to meet King Marko 

And tell him not to bring the Lomota here, 

In order that fear may not seize upon the seventy-seven Queens, 

And that the seventy-seven little Kings may not die." 

But King Marko does not listen to them, 

Does not listen to them, and drags the Lomota. 

" Let King Marko tie the Lomota to the gates, 

That the seventy-seven Queens may not be afraid." 



* 'Then you will have done' something worth talking about. 

f The Lomota is a kind of monster half dragon and half whirlwind. 



Chap. VI. 



SEFERINA REJECTED. 



93 



But King Marko does not hear what is said to him, 

And drags the Lomota into the court. 

And the seventy-seven Queens are afraid, 

And the seventy-seven little Kings die. 

King Marko sits down by the sofra, 

And he eats and drinks ; 

He looks for the maiden Seferina, 

And she comes to the sofra and gives him wine 

And dessert ; she gives wine to all, 

But the Queens drank no wine — they were afraid — 

And they refused the dessert. 

King Marko says to them, 

" Why do you not drink, 

And why do you not eat ? " 

The Queens answer King Marko 

" We have been frightened." 

" Haida ! * take the fair maid Seferina ! " 

Philip Magyar says, " Bring the carriage of gold 

And harness two good horses to it, 

And put the fair maid Seferina into the carriage, 

And let him take her, King Marko." 

They bring the carriage of gold 

And they put into it the fair maid Seferina with King Marko. 

Philip Magyar remains in the Palace of Philip Magyar,! 

And they went away, King Marko and the fair maid Seferina, 

And King Marko brings her to his Palace, 

And ninety-nine Kings are assembled, 

And a splendid marriage is prepared. 

Then Philip Magyar arrives with nothing on but his shirt, 

" You know it and you remember it, King Marko ! — " 

King Marko sees him, but leaves him on the threshold, 

But the fair maid Seferina 

Goes towards Philip Magyarina. 

" You go towards him to the threshold ! 

I am angry ! " 

And he gave back, and he (Philip) took back, 
The fair maid Seferina. 



* Haida ! (Turkish), all right ! off with you ! Who makes this remark 
it is not easy to conjecture. 

f The simple but poetic beauty of this line must strike even the most 
prosaic reader. 



94 



BULGARIAN SONGS. 



Chap. YT. 



In these three heroic poems of the Bulgarians we see the 
great deeds of two of their heroes ; one is a formidable wrestler, 
but he eats, drinks and dresses in (or rather out of) proportion 
— in short he is but an enormous animal, and even his mother 
has no great opinion of his morals, since she says 

" Thou hast been at some Haydutluk." 

Krai Marko, by far the most famous hero of Bulgaria, is but 
little better ; he too has an immense appetite and immense 
strength, but he is, to say the least, most impolite to ladies. 

What strikes us most is the entire absence of anything like 
poetry ; there is no sentiment, except that of chronic hunger. 
Krai Marko obtains the fair Seferina (probably Seraphina) 
after an exploit of which the success is chiefly due to his 
horse, who has certainly more presence of mind than his rider, 
since, though " half swallowed," he advises him to strike at 
the head of the monster. But there is neither love nor any 
other sentiment of the heart or soul in anything which 
Krai Marko does ; nor has he the least spark of generosity, 
for he hangs poor Philip Junak simply because he boasted 
falsely of having enchained three monsters. All that is sung 
of is merely animal prowess, and well fed bears would have 
done as much. 

These remarks are worth noting, for in heroic songs we 
generally find the ideal of the perfect man which is formed 
by the nation; the Bulgarian people of the present day 
greatly admire Deli Marko and Joanczo, and in doing so 
they pass judgment on themselves. 

In the traditions, legends and songs of all half savage 
peoples (except the Bulgarians) there is a great deal of 
poetry and generosity of feeling ; an Indian chief would not 



Chap. VI. LEGENDS OF OTHER RACES COMPARED. 



95 



have killed Philip Junak, nor have sent away the fair 
Seferina for behaving dutifully to her father. The heroes of 
Walhalla are dark and terrible, their feast is gigantic almost 
as the dinner of Joanczo ; but they are giants, and their 
deeds, their vices, and their virtues are proportionate to 
their stature. 

What a difference between these legends and sono-s and 
the poetry of the Turks! Needless to take the written 
works of Arabian or Persian, or even Turkish authors, but 
listen to the first peasant you meet who pours forth some 
"unpremeditated lay;" what vivacity in its sentiments, what 
poetic colour in its imagery, what simplicity, and yet what 
strength ! 

No doubt the education of the people does much; but 
since Christianity, grafted on the Norse and Teutonic Deli 
Markos and Joanczos, has produced a noble literature, why 
has it failed with the Bulgarians ? Perhaps its Spiritualism 
cannot penetrate the gross hide of the Bulgarian, or perhaps 
Oriental Christianity has caused a reaction. 

In any case it is not oppression nor slavery which is the 
cause, for the Polish and Lithuanian peasants possess songs 
which find an echo in the heart, because they come from the 
heart, the source of all true poetry : the source of the ballads 
of Bulgaria seems to be, alas ! — the stomach. 



96 



EASTERN CHRISTIANITY IN BULGARIA. Chap. VII. 



CHAPTEE VII. 

EASTERN CHRISTIANITY, AND ITS EFFECTS IN BULGARIA. 

Feasts and fast-days economically considered — The Bulgarian catechized 
— The clergy seek union with Home — Rejected as unworthy — A curacy 
in Bulgaria — The rector — The parishioners — Fasting — Holy water — 
Extortion of the priests — Reforms suggested. 

It is not our intention to enter upon a discussion of the 
dogmas or doctrine of the Greek religion, which we shall 
consider merely in its effects upon the morality and educa- 
tion of the Christians of the East, in short, as a school of 
civilization. When we find that a religion as preached and 
practised by its clergy has no beneficial action whatever, 
it must be regarded, economically, only as a method by which 
a parasitic class enriches itself at the expense of public 
credulity : but if the fruits which it produces are idleness, 
ignorance, drunkenness, and an utter absence of morality, 
then such a religion deserves to be placed under the ban of 
public opinion. All these evils, which exist to a terrible 
extent in Bulgaria, can be traced to the influence of the 
Greek clergy. 

The Fetichism of the Gaboon would never be tolerated in 
England — not because its exercise would shock the religious 
feelings of a nation whose troops not long ago presented 
arms to the statue of Buddha in the procession of Juggernaut, 
— but because Cannibalism, the murders committed by the 
priest-sorcerers, and the constant terror inspired by the fear 



Chap. VII. 



FEASTS AND FAST-DAYS. 



\)7 



of White Devils, render Fetichism incompatible with our 
civilization. 

And is a religion which absolutely prohibits labour during 
183 days of the year, and during the other 182 weakens its 
professors by such fasts as are unknown in Europe, except 
perhaps in a Trappist monastery, likely to encourage 
civilization to any great extent ? 

Such precepts are, no doubt, more honoured in the breach 
than the observance by those whom a superior education has " 
rendered free thinkers, or placed above the necessity of con- 
forming to popular prejudices. Aristides had no false scruples 
to prevent his profaning the Sabbath of St. Mitrophanes by 
altering the address on the ownerless box which he found at 
the Custom House,* and a chicken may appear on a fast day 
at the table of Monsignor Benedictos,| under the name of a 
vegetable marrow : but what is inevitable is, that the corn 
will remain ungarnered upon the fields for at least fifteen 
days,{ during which it pays tithe to the pigeons and turtle 
doves, or is spoilt by the rain, — for these fifteen days are 
days of feast, when labour is forbidden by the Greek priest, 
though no interdict is laid upon the peasant's consumption 
of wine or spirits ; and that, during a Lent of sixty days, the 
scrupulous peasant-mother will refuse her sick infant any 
other nourishment than bread, onions, or garlic and cabbage- 
water ; the child may die, but the fast has been observed. 

" I know all that," said Miltiades to us one day, " but, with 
us, it is only the lower classes who believe in that nonsense ; 

* Vide ' Eastern Commerce.' 

f Metropolitan of Monastir ; a prelate concerning whom information is 
given in later pages of this chapter. 

\ This feast varies in duration from fifteen to forty days. 

H 



98 



EASTERN CHRISTIANITY. 



Chap. VII. 



every educated Hellene is an atheist, for our religion has 
one grand advantage, it leads to Atheism sooner than any 
other/' * 

Strange apology for a Christian religion ! 

Though abstaining, as we have said, from all criticism of 
dogmas, we must point out some of the effects produced 
upon the Eayahs by the doctrine of his Church as the Papas 
interprets it to him. 

A short time since a peasant of our village remarked, 
whilst drinking a cup of wine in our house, 

" After next Sunday I shan't drink any more of your wine." 

This resolution, a very strange one for a Bulgarian to 
take, astonished us not a little, especially as our friend 

N is rather a hard-drinker, and we began to wonder 

whether any Apostles of Teetotalism had arrived in our 
neighbourhood; however, we congratulated him upon his 
proposed abstinence from fermented liquors. 

" No, no, not at all ; I am not going to give up wine or 
raki, but I say I shall not drink any more of your wine after 
next Sunday." 

" Why not ? is it too strong for you ?" 

" Oh no ! your wine is very good indeed, but the Easter 
Lent begins next Sunday, and your wine is yaghli." (Yaghli 
here means gras, technically used as opposed to maigre, and 
applies to everything which may not be eaten during a 
Fast). 

" But how is it yaghli ? " 

* This was said as we have quoted; another Greek, holding a high 
official position, who was present at this conversation, added : " As for me, 
I only believe in Jupiter," and he was speaking seriously without any arriere 
pensee of sarcasm. 



Chap. VII. 



YIN G-EAS. 



99 



" Because you put eggs into it." 

Then we remembered that as on its arrival the barrel of 
wine was very muddy, we had put in half-a-dozen whites 
of egg to clear it. 

N — — continued, "If I drink your wine, when I go to 
confession the Papas will refuse me the Koumka (Com- 
munion), and I shall be ashamed, because there are always 
a lot of people looking on." 

The conversation then turned upon Papasses and religion, 

and N was much astonished to learn that the clergy of 

Europe are not in the habit of lending out money to their 
flocks at sixty per cent, interest. 

The greatest sin which can be committed by an orthodox 
Christian of Bulgaria (as well as by his brother of St. 
Petersburg) is to break a Fast day by eating forbidden 
food, any act of theft being nothing in comparison with 

this. We asked N , which the Papas would consider the 

greater crime, to drink our wine during Lent, or to steal 
a goose ; and the answer was, " Well, to steal a goose is 
certainly a sin, but to drink your wine would be a much 
greater one." 

"How fortunate you are," concluded he, as he drank off 
his yaghli wine, "to have priests who don't walk off with 
your last fowl ! " 

The ignorance of the Bulgarians with regard to all the 
precepts and maxims of the Gospels, and even of every- 
thing that concerns their religion, with the exception of 
its outward forms is, even to those who know their clergy, 
most astonishing ; and even with these outward observances 
are mixed various curious relics of the old Slavonic Pan- 
theism, a mixture which is tolerated by the priests either 

h 2 



100 



EASTERN CHRISTIANITY. 



Chap. VII. 



from ignorance of the presence of the Pagan element, or from 
reasons already mentioned.* 

It would be useless to ask a peasant to quote any passage 
from the Bible, for there are few Papasses who are capable 
of doing so ; they being frequently unable to write or read, 
and holding a book in their hands during the performance 
of Divine Service only to give themselves a greater air of 
dignity ; the prayers, &c, they learn off by heart. 

Put the simplest questions to a peasant, such questions 
as a Sunday School child of six years old will answer with 
ease, and you will receive the strangest replies. We give a 
specimen of such a catechism, from which some part has 
been omitted, as the answers, though given in ignorance, 
appear too blasphemous to write down : — 

Q. "How many Gods are there?" 

A. "Kto znaje?" (who knows?) the invariable reply at 
first, but on pressing the question we were told — 

"Probably many, for there is one for the Turks, and 
another for us, and no doubt the English and French 
have another — a rich one, too — for there are only Chin- 
guines (gipsies) who have no God." t 

Q. "Who is Jesus Christ?" 

A. "Do you mean Christos?" 

Q. "Yes; who is he?" 

* See Chapters IV. and V. 

f There is a Turkish and Bulgarian tradition that when religions were 
given out to the different nations of the earth, the recipients cut their 
several creeds upon stone, engraved them upon wood or metal, or printed 
them in hooks (the Franks, for instance) ; the gipsies however wrote their 
canons upon the leaves of a cabbage, which was shortly afterwards seen 
and eaten by a Turkish donkey ; this is the reason that the Chinguine's 
have neither religion nor God of their own. 



Chap. VII. THE BULGARIAN CATECHIZED. 



101 



A. "Kto znaje?" 
Q. "Is lie not the Son of God?" 
A. "Don't laugh at a poor peasant, Chelibi (Sir)." 
Q. " What is the Kouroka (Communion) ? " 
A. " It is bread and wine which the Papas gives you to 
eat : it costs ten piastres." 

Q. " Is it not the body of Jesus Christ ?" * 

A. " Now you are laughing at me again, Chelibi ! " 

Q. "What is a sin?" 

A. "It is a bad thing, for which you have to pay the 
Papas." 

Q. " Mention some sins." 

A. " Oh, there are a great many ; for instance, to clean a 
stable or to buy or sell milk after sunset, to sell a loaf 
of bread without breaking a piece off it, not to fumigate 
flour with incense if it has been ground in a mill belonging 
to a Turk, to give a spoon as a plaything to a child, not 
to sweep the place where an unbeliever has sat clown in 
your house, to let a dog get up upon your roof, and ever 
so many others — and quite lately it has become a sin to 
give alms to a gipsy." 

Crimes against property, false witness, and many such 
acts as are not only against the precepts of every Christian 
religion, but also punishable by law, are mere peccadillos 
for which absolution may be purchased from the priest at 
the rate of an egg apiece. 

Such is the impression made upon the conscience of the 
Rayah by the religious and moral instructions of the Papas. 

If the Eayah is not ten times richer than the Turk, if 



* The Greek Church holds the doctrine of the Real Presence. 



102 



EASTERN CHRISTIANITY. 



Chap. VII. 



he is totally and pitiably uneducated, if he professes a 
religion swarming with Fetiches and which eradicates none 
of the thousand superstitions which embitter his life, if 
his morality is of the lowest possible standard, if he is a 
disloyal subject and a dangerous neighbour,* — for all this 
he may thank, not the Turkish Government, but the Greek 
Hierarchy which distant England so much admires. 

Not very long ago the Ultramontane party in France 
was congratulating itself upon the reported union of the 
Bulgarians with the Papal See, and about the same time 
England was occupied with the project of a fusion between 
the Anglican and Greek Churches. 

The report had never much foundation, and the union 
of Bulgaria with Eome was never carried out : how far it 
would have been possible may be learnt from the words 
of the Chief of the Koman Catholic Mission at Varna, a 
Cappucino monk of exemplary life and character : — 

" Some time since several Bulgarian (not Greeks, though 
of the Greek Church) Papasses called on me with questions 
as to the possibility of a union with the Holy See — but 
I can assure you, Signore, that such a thing is quite out of 
the question." 

" Why so, Padre ? on account of the marriage of the 
clergy?" 

" Not that, for the United Greek Church has a dispensa- 
tion; but there is one insurmountable religious obstacle to 
admitting this clergy into union with our Church, and as 

* To our knowledge the following maxims are inculcated "by the Greek 
clergy : that the authority of the Wladyka (Bishop or Metropolitan) is in 
all cases, civil as well as ecclesiastical, paramount to that of the Padischah, 
and that it is no sin to rob or cheat a Mussulman. 



Chap. VII. 



A CURACY IN BULGARIA. 



103 



to the people, it would be a very toilsome mission that 
of endeavouring to instil into their minds any kind of 
morality whatever, and I think few of them would accept 
the severe maxims of our religion upon this point. Just 
imagine, — all these Papasses, without exception, who came 
to consult me, were so totally ignorant of all that re- 
lates to even the first principles and simplest doctrines 
of Christianity, and their ideas of morality, even of social f 
morality, were so vague or so loose, that it would not only 
be utterly impossible to admit them into our Church as 
priests, but I doubt whether, without previously preparing 
them by a course of study, I should be justified in accepting 
them as catechumens." * 

Such was the opinion of a member of that Church which 
is supposed to be only too ready to make any proselytes by 
any means ; and though it may startle some of those who 
have fancied the Greek Church to be everything that is 
perfect, it is probable that it is not strong enough to 
change the opinion of the many who persist in thinking 
the Greek Church to be a sister of the Anglican. Let us 
draw a picture, not altogether fanciful, of what might take 
place if these two Churches were amalgamated. 

An English gentleman, just ordained, and fresh from 
Oxford, accepts a curacy in Bulgaria under an incumbent 
of the Greek Church ; he has prepared himself by attending 
a series of lectures at the Taylorian upon "The Bulgarian 
dialect of Slavonic as connected with Mceso-G othic," and 
starts upon his journey with the expectation of finding 
the " rector " of his future parish a specimen of sublimed 
humanity attired in a patriarchal beard, and flowing robes 



* See Appendix D. 



EASTEKN CHRISTIANITY. 



Chap. VII. 



whose severely graceful folds give to his figure a dignity 
like that of the Moses of Michael Angelo, whilst he unites 
in his single person the lofty affability of all the heads of 
houses, the learning of a whole Common Room, and the mild 
justice of a dozen deans or sub-rectors, with the simplicity 
of manners and purity of heart of a bishop of the early 
centuries of Christianity. 

He arrives at the scene of his labours ; he finds the beard 
and the flowing robes, but both are undeniably greasy, and 
their owner, a portly personage who diffuses around him a 
perfume of garlic and raki, salutes him with a humble bow, 
and addresses him as ' Chelibi ' ; when he is informed of the 
respective positions of himself and the new-comer, he takes 
a slightly higher tone, and demands — 

" Have you any money ?" 

"Yes, Sir, a little." 

" Very good ; but don't call me ' Sir,' only plain ' Dimitri,' 
since you have money and I have none, — for these wretched 
villagers no longer pay as they used to do, thanks to the 
Schism ; and as the Papadika * pockets everything, you 
shall pay for us both, and we will go to the Tukhan." 

The curate assents, and follows his rector, fancying that 
he is going to make a round of visits in the parish : after a 
minute's walk along a muddy road an old woman stops them, 
saying, 

" Papas, my husband Tanaz is dying, and he implores you 
for the love of Heaven to come and see him." 

" Have you got the seventy piastres?" is the reply of the 
priest. 

" We are poor ; very, very poor, Papas." 

* The Papas' s wife. 



Chap. VII. 



THE BULGABIAN EECTOE. 



105 



" That's a lie, Tranitza, you are quite rich enough to pay 
me." 

" But the funeral only costs forty piastres ! " 

" That's what I have to pay to the Wladyka, but do you 
suppose I have bought this parish in order to make nothing 
out of it ? Pay me the seventy piastres or " 

" Then I will sell the cow and pay you " 

" Not a bit of it, I shan't give credit." 

" Boze, Boze ! * my husband is dying ! " 

" Let him die, then, if you are not going to pay me ! " 

The curate offers to go and console the dying man, for, 
thanks to Professor Max Muller's lectures, he has understood 
something of this dialogue, though he is rather astonished at 
the absence of the Moeso-Gothic element; but the Papas 
stops him with " What ! you'd go and rob me of my seventy 
piastres ? these people will never pay unless we get it out of 
them in advance." 

The woman goes away sobbing, and the sensitive heart of 
the Oxonian is so touched that he ventures to offer the sum 
in question to his rector, who accepts it with the greatest 
possible condescension, and calls back Tranitza. 

" This young gentleman has advanced some of the money 
for you, so I'll come and see your husband for you presently, 
but get ready for me two dozen of eggs, six fowls, and five 
sahans f of flour." 

The Tukhan is reached, and they enter, slightly to the 
surprise of the curate when he finds himself in a very dingy 

A Bulgarian exclamation as frequently used as the French " Mon Dieu," 
and with the same literal meaning. 

f The sahan, literally " bowl," is a measure devoted to the use of the 
priest, and averages about an oke. 



106 



EASTERN CHRISTIANITY. 



Chap. VII. 



and disreputable-looking pot-house ; but as all the villagers 
rise and kiss his hands as well as those of the Papas, he 
fancies that he is being presented to his parishioners. Time 
passes rapidly with the Papas, who calls for innumerable 
small glasses of raki varied by numberless big tumblers of 
wine. About 4 o'clock he begins to sing unclerical songs, 
and by 5 he cannot stand upright. At this stage enters 
the son of Tanaz, asking him to visit his father, who is 
at death's door. "Get along with you," says the Papas, 
whom his potations have rendered ill-tempered, adding a 
strong-flavoured Turkish oath much in use amongst the 
JRayahs. The young man has also been drinking, probably 
to drown his grief, and he answers so rudely that the Papas 
raises his arm to strike him ; a scuffle ensues, in the course 
of which the sacerdotal garments are torn to rags, and 
half of Dimitri's beard remains in the hands of his adver- 
sary, whilst his cap is thrown down, trodden under foot, 
and loses all trace of its former peculiar shape; his co- 
adjutor tries to interfere, but all the bystanders rush upon 
him, and he extricates himself only by putting in practice 
certain athletic exercises which he has learnt at Maclaren's ; 
and finds himself in the open air again with a much 
modified opinion of the Greek clergy. 

Though he leaves the Papas to his fate, his first thought- 
is to hasten to the house of Tanaz, saying to himself, " The 
clergy may be illiterate and even worse, but for all that 
I must not abandon my poor people." With this charitable 
reflection he arrives at the door of the miserable hut in 
which Tanaz is dying, but stays a moment on the threshold, 
almost fancying that he is at the gate of Pandemonium, so 
loud, so guttural, and so shrill are the shouts, screams, and 



Chap. VII. THE BULGARIAN PARISHIONERS. 



107 



wailings which proceed from the sick-room. For a moment 
the sight of a foreigner stops the uproar, and a hideous old 
woman, whom the scarf bound round her arm shows to be 
the village witch on duty.* places herself, arms akimbo, in 
front of the stranger, saying, 

(i I sivppose you are the doctor; be off with you! 1 have 
tried with the scarf, and Tanaz will die." 

"I am a priest."' 

" You a priest ! where's your Bakar.j and your Kalpak ? t 
You're nothing but an impostor, get along with you ! " 

But a silver key gains admission to the room, and the 
curate makes his way through the throng of * keening ' 
relatives and friends to the bedside of the dying man. to 
whom he whispers words of hope and consolation. 

But Tanaz rejects them ; " It is no use, there is no hope 
for me, none! and so, Chelibi, give me back the seventy 
piastres, for it is only so much money wasted." 

The curate tells him not to despair of the Divine mercy 
if he truly repents. 

" But I know there is no mercy for me, I must go to Hell, 
for a dog slept upon the roof of the house to-day ;§ so please 
give me back the seventy piastres ! " 

"But vour wife did not gixe the monev. it was I who grave 
it to the Papas." 

" Yes, but your honour |j gave it lor my wife, so it belongs 
to us, and we don't want to give it to the Papas, because 
Ave know he can do nothing for me ; he won't give back the 

* See the Chapter on Superstitions. 

f Holy water pot. % Cap. 

§ See again Chapter on Superstitions. 

|| Vasza milost, literally "your love,'' a Bulgarian term of respect. 



108 



EASTERN CHRISTIANITY. 



Chap. VII. 



piastres, but you, Chelibi, are too much of a gentleman not 
to do so." 

After a year spent in charity and zealous labour amongst 
his peasant parishioners, helping them with money, healing 
their bodies as well as their souls, defending them against 
unjust extortion from the tax-collector and advocating their 
cause through his Consulate, the curate finds that he has 
sown his seed in a barren soil, and reaped neither gratitude, 
nor moral nor religious progress: so he leaves the country 
with much the same opinion of it as that of the Authors of 
this book. 

The foregoing sketch will appear to many people exag- 
gerated, if not impossible ; yet even the existence of an 
English clergyman in Bulgaria is not quite fictitious, for the 
peasants of this neighbourhood have told us of English 
missionaries who settled in the Balkans, and after some years 
of devotion to the poor, the sick, and the ignorant, were at 
last driven away by those who owed the most to their kind- 
ness and Christian charity. As for the dialogues and 
scenes, — the Papas in the Tukhan fighting with his parish- 
ioner, the deathbed of Tanaz, and the others, — they are 
unhappily no fictions, but relations of events. 

Keturning to the Greek Church, and leaving the question 
of its union with that of England, we find that the monks* 
are often better educated than the country Papas, and it is 
from their ranks chiefly that the bishops and archbishops 
are chosen, as they furnish men who are more clever, if 
not more scrupulous, than the secular clergy of the country 
districts. The position of archbishop (or metropolitan) is a 
prize not to be disdained, the revenues sometimes amounting 
to 700,000 piastres, about 60001. per annum. 



Char VII. 



FASTING — HOLY WATER. 



109 



As for the morals of these ecclesiastical dignitaries, it is 
to be feared that their superior education is, in too many 
instances, only employed to do on a large scale what the Papas 
does on a small one, — to extort money from the people. The 
recent dissensions between the clergy and their Bulgarian 
flock have had the effect of bringing to light many instances 
of ill-conduct on the part of the spiritual chiefs of the Greek 
Church, but we will only cite, from these many, one case, 
as alluded to in a letter (one of a series on the same subject) 
to the ' Courrier d'Orient,' which will give a slight idea of 
the moral and financial state of the Eastern Church, and 
even of its internal discipline. 

As the censorship of the press in Constantinople is one 
of those imported French iDstitutions which flourish most 
vigorously, the grave charges brought forward, in this and 
other letters, against Monsignor Beneclictos would certainly 
have drawn an " avertissement " upon the newspaper in 
wiiich they were published, if their truth could have been in 
any way impugned * 

We have thus traced the action of the Orthodox Church 
and its clergy upon the Bulgarians,! and the resume of its 
effects is as follows : — 

That there are 183 Feast Days during the year, on every 
one of which labour is absolutely forbidden, and the other 
182 days are strict Fasts which weaken the peasant by their 



* See Appendix E. 

f We have not alluded to the Armenians, as the only members of that 
race to be found in Bulgaria are all either Government employe's, or 
merchants in the towns ; we have, however, very good reason for believing 
the Armenian clergy to be not much better educated than those of the 
Greek Church, and quite as rapacious. 



110 



EASTERN CHRISTIANITY. 



Chap. YII. 



extreme rigour (particularly as they occur on the only days 
when he may labour), as his diet is reduced to bread, onions, 
garlic, or one of the few kinds of vegetables which he culti- 
vates. Fish is as strictly forbidden as meat, and no excep- 
tion is made even for sickness, infancy, or old age. 

That it encourages gross superstition whilst it fails to 
civilize, educate, or improve the morals of the people ; and 
finally 

That the average Papas is hardly less ignorant than his 
flock, and in point of morality is even inferior to them. 

Let us now calculate how much the Eastern Christians 
pay for these benefits. 

In every village you may see, at least once a month, a 
Papas, accompanied by the Kiaya (nearly always a Mussul- 
man gipsy), who carries a large copper vessel filled with holy 
water, a brush, and a big sack. The Papas enters every 
house, and sprinkles the walls and floor with the holy water, 
and throws a little over the people themselves, who in 
return pay him a sum whose minimum is fixed at one 
piastre, the money being thrown into the benitier carried 
by the Kiaya. This payment is obligatory and cannot 
be evaded; moreover custom demands the addition of at 
least one oke of flour, which we will value at only one 
piastre, and this must be contributed even by the poorest 
families. 

The Papas dines at the expense of some rich villager, and 
perhaps puts up for the night, if his church is too distant to 
admit of his returning the same day. 

Many villages have no church nor resident Papas. This is 
not the fault of the Turkish Government but the choice of 
the villagers, who argue that it comes cheaper to have 



Chap. VII. EXTORTION OF THE PRIESTS. 



Ill 



a Papas amongst them occasionally than one* who would 
reside with them all the year round.* 

As the priest has usually bought his parish from the 
WladyJca, he is obliged to make as much out of it as he can, 
and therefore though the aiasmas (sprinklings with holy 
water) are fixed at one per month, he takes the opportunity 
of renewing them as often as he is sent for to a christening, 
marriage, burial, or other ceremony. 

The other taxes levied by the Papas are : from each 
married couple two sheniks of corn, which are equal to one 
Constantinople kile, or a fourth of a Yarna kile, and average 
in value thirty-two piastres (1867-1868). t There is besides a 
tax for the' metropolitan, which varies in different districts, 
being fixed here at sixteen piastres. The so-called voluntary 
contributions, such as eggs, butter, cheese, wine, grapes, 
lambs, fowls, flour, wool, &c, &c, amount to at least twenty 
piastres per house. Adding these sums to the twenty-four 
piastres annually paid for the aiasma, we find that the Papas 
receives from each family seventy-six piastres for himself, 
and sixteen for the metropolitan*:]: 

Further, as every baptism is charged at five piastres, every 
marriage thirty, and every burial forty piastres, there is a 
very large sum annually paid in from these sources to the 
ecclesiastical coffers. Taking the deaths at thirty per 

* Our village, which is a rich one, has neither church nor school, and 
there is not one of the peasants who can either read or write ; lately a 
Chorbadji proposed the erection of a church, and offered to contribute ten 
pounds in money, all the timber necessary, and fifty cartloads of stone; 
this proposal was negatived in the village council on the ground that they 
paid enough to the priest already, and that if he were to live in the village 
always, they would be quite ruined. 

f See Appendix F. J See Appendix G. 



112 



EASTERN CHRISTIANITY. 



Chap. TIL 



thousand annually, the births at the same rate, and the 
marriages only at ten per thousand, we find that the twelve 
millions of Eastern Christians * pay an annual sum of nearly 
twenty millions of piastres for these three charges alone; and 
adding to this sum the seventy-six piastres of the Papas and 
the sixteen of the Wladyka paid by every family, we arrive 
at the grand total of 210 millions of piastres, or more than 
two millions of pounds sterling paid every year to the 
Eastern Churches. And we have omitted in this calculation 
the sums paid by communicants, collections at churches, the 
revenues of the monasteries and of land possessed by the 
Rayah clergy, &c., &c. } which would probably nearly double 
this amount. 

The monasteries especially bring in a large income to the 
Greek Church ; numberless gifts are presented at their shrines 
and frequent pilgrimages made to them, when the pilgrim is 
made to pay pretty heavily for his board and lodging. The 
monks, however, make very good landlords, and if they are 
well paid are as polite as can be desired. 

These pilgrimages are generally the result of confession, 
for when the penitent finds himself face to face with a white- 
bearded priest armed with a whip.t he is glad to escape 
unhurt, and promises to do penance in any monastery which 
the Papas chooses for him. 

The study of the action and effects of Eastern Christianity 
is a very painful one to the Christian of the West, as he sees 
a parasitical clergy preying upon the credulity, the ignor- 

* We "believe that we are doing no injustice to the Armenian clergy in 
supposing them to he at least as well paid as those of the Greek Church. 

f One of the customs (at confession) of the Greek Church in Turkey 
as well as in Russia. 



Chap. VII. 



REFORMS SUGGESTED. 



113 



ance, and the misery of an entire people ; and that the 
Christian Church in Turkey is now what that of Europe was 
during the darkest ages of its profligacy and venality, with 
the same unbounded immorality in all those of its acts which 
ought to tend to the greater glory and advantage of true 
religion. 

Painful too is the contrast between the morals of the 
Mussulman Hodja or Imam and those of the Christian Papas,* 
between the education and honesty of the two peoples, — 
Turks and Eayahs. — and even between the revenues of the 
Ulema and those of the Church ; the former serving to 
disseminate learning and afford a gratuitous education to the 
people, the latter being dedicated to keeping Papasses in 
luxury, and to corrupting Exarchs. 

A remedy is possible ; but Turkey is so unwilling to inter- 
fere in the ecclesiastical affairs of the Christians, that it would 
be necessary for the Western Powers to urge her, in the name 
of humanity, to compel a radical reform, not of doctrine, but 
in the morals and social position of the Greek clergy. Such 
a change would do more to benefit the Rayah than a century 
of the concessions which are now so liberally bestowed upon 
him. 

It would be but reasonable that a Government, which 
carries religious toleration to such an extent as is practised 
by Turkey, should be permitted to exact from the Christian 
clergy some such conditions as the following : — 

1. An amount of education sufficient to enable the priest 
to teach the people. 

* The priest of the largest church in an important town upon the Black 
Sea kept for years, unnoticed and unrebuked by his superiors, a house of 
ill fame ; we could give many other nearly similar instances. 

I 



114 



EASTERN CHRISTIANITY. Chap. VII. 



2. That this teaching shall not be contrary to the interests 
of the State, nor to the tenure of property. (See note, 
p. 102). 

3. That the clergy shall not be permitted to ruin the 
subjects of the Government by oppressive exactions. 

4. That the clergy shall, for offences not ecclesiastical, be 
subject to the civil tribunals. 

It would be thus necessary that every candidate for holy 
orders should be compelled to pass an examination before a 
civil board of education, as well as to produce unexception- 
able certificates of morality ; and if any candidate failed in 
these points and afterwards succeeded in being ordained 
priest, both he and the metropolitan who ordained him 
should be liable to punishment.* 

The tribunals and the police should be allowed to take 
cognizance of the civil offences committed by the priests; 
sermons and pastoral letters should be subjected to the 
same censorship as the press, whilst a Papas convicted of 
robbing or cheating his parishioners should go to Widin as 
surely as would Moustapha the Hodja, or Ali the Imam. 

Perhaps such a reform as this might introduce honesty 
and education among the Eastern Christians, who would 
have to thank the Padischah for the boon, and not the 
Wladyka or the Patriarch : but neither education nor honesty 
will take any hold amongst them so long as the clergy 
remain in their present ignorant and vicious condition. 



* Under the present system no examination of candidates is fairly 
practised ; the person who wishes to become a priest, usually pays the 
Wladyka for ordaining him, and perhaps has to bribe against two or three 
competitors ; after he becomes a priest he has to buy a parish from the 
Wladyka, of course, and to make what profit he can by the transaction. 



Chap. VIII. IGNORANCE OF CONSULS ACCOUNTED FOR. 115 



CHAPTEE VIII. 

BRIGANDAGE IN THE BALKAN. 

Ignorance of consuls accounted for — The Gentleman of the Forest — 
Generosity — The common Highwayman — Laissez aller — The Outlaw 
— Justice defeated — A Dogs teal er. 

This prominent feature of the Bulgarian Provinces is passed 
over in silence, or but slightly alluded to, by the authors of 
the ' Keports received from Her Majesty's Ambassador and 
Consuls relating to the condition of Christians in Turkey ' in 
1867. 

For this partial or entire reticence there are two good valid 
reasons : 1st, That if a British Consul happens to be animated 
by the laudable desire to see something of the country districts 
of his consulate, his personal dignity and consular precedents 
equally require that he should travel with his interpreter, 
his cavasses, and even with an additional escort of Zaptiehs : 
being thus accompanied, his quality of Western Foreigner, 
well guarded and well armed, is soon known to any brigands 
who may be exercising their vocation in the forests through 
which he passes, and as a matter of course he rides unmolested 
by roads on which no Greek or Armenian merchant dare 
show himself. Too often however the Foreign Consul does 
not take the trouble to extend his search after knowledge 
beyond the walls or' limits of the town in which he resides ; 
his motto is, " Take care of the towns, the country will take 
care of itself ; " and consequently he knows as little of the 

I 2 



116 



BRIGANDAGE IN THE BALKAN. Chap. YIII. 



plague of brigandage as he knows of everything else relating 
to the status of the genuine Turkish peasant, Mussulman, or 
Christian. 2nd, The peasants, especially Christians, who may 
have been robbed, dare not complain to the authorities, pre- 
ferring rather to put up with their losses, than to bear the 
consequences of making accusations which may bring down 
misfortune upon themselves and their families : the wisdom 
of their choice will be seen from a later portion of this 
chapter. 

The Pashas and Governors of Provinces will of course reply, 
if questioned as to the amount of brigandage existing in their 
governments, that it has entirely disappeared, or at least 
is rapidly decreasing ; and this answer often expresses their 
genuine belief, although the fact may be just the reverse. So 
long as no complaints are made by the sufferers, the Zaptiehs 
prefer their coffee and cigarettes at their guard-house or their 
billet to scouring the country in search of brigands, of whose 
existence they are perfectly aware, but whom they have no 
reason or inducement to arrest. Thus, as no brigands are 
captured and lodged in the town prison, the Governor takes 
it for granted that " brigandage is extinct," and flatters him- 
self that his Pashalik is a model for the rest of the Sultan's 
dominions. 

Brigandage nevertheless not only exists but flourishes in 
Bulgaria : its members may be classified under three distinct 
heads, of which, each division differs from the others toto coelo: 
if the English language offered any one word which would . 
not convey a sense of opprobrium, it would be but fair to dis- 
tinguish by such a term the first class from the others ; — as it 
is, we must be content to qualify all the genus as brigands, 
and to separate their species as follows : — 



Chap. VIII. THE GENTLEMAN OF THE FOREST. 



117 



1st, The Balkan Chelibi, or " gentlemen of the forest." 

2nd, The Khersis, or common highway robber. 

3rd, The Haydut, or outlawed murderer. 

The "gentleman of the forest" claims a distinct classi- 
fication, although he is numerically far inferior to the other 
two classes. He is generally the descendant of a family of 
Balkan Beys who, like the JDere Beys (or lords of the valleys) 
in Anatolia, were as practically independent of the Turkish 
Padischah as the English Barons of the end of the 12th 
century were of King John. His ancestors, before they were 
despoiled of their property, for the benefit of the conquered 
Christians who were added to the number of their fellow- 
subjects, enjoyed certain rights which their descendant has 
not forgotten. That the Beys of Akindji paid no taxes in 
money, but that they offered their blood for their country, 
and that the Kayah for whom they fought paid them in 
return a tenth of his produce, is an historical fact which 
Said of Akindji has not forgotten : but he does not enter 
upon his career of Balkan Chelibi without a reason — he has 
a dispute with the Zaptiehs about a certain immemorial right 
of cutting wood upon ground which the latter, being bribed 
accordingly, maintain to belong to the Kayahs of Derekuoi. 
The Zaptiehs threaten to take him to Varna, and Said 
thereupon takes to the forest, where he is well aware that 
the Zaptiehs will never find him. His life as "a banished 
man" is not a disagreeable one, for no Turk will betray one 
of his class, and the Kayah is too timorous to do so : Said's 
game, however, is not from the preserves of the Kayah villages ; 
he prefers to wait for some fat Armenian or sharp-eyed Greek 
who has ventured to travel with a sum of money from Varna 
to Adrianople, and as AgriocJioiros or, Odian Mffendi emerges 



118 



BRIGANDAGE IN THE BALKAN. Chap. VIII. 



from the gorge upon a path which is the only road for a 
hundred yards, he is confronted by Said pistol in hand, and 
hears the ominous words, " Dour ver para," " Stand, and give 
up your money." Neither Agrioehoiros nor Odian requires 
much pressing, for valour is not their strong point, and life is 
preferable even to gold, and they know that Turkey is large, 
and that the Goddess of Eastern Commerce soon enriches her 
devout votaries : so they surrender their money, not without 
regret indeed, but still without a thought of resistance. If 
there is an escort in the shape of a Zaptieh, that functionary 
fires his muskets in the air, and retires leisurely, returning 
to Yarna to report that he has been attacked by ten brigands, 
of whom he shot three, and with difficulty escaped from the 
remaining seven : he is a cousin's cousin of Said, or, his own 
brother is a " Balkan Chelibi" in another part of the province, 
so why should he embroil himself with Said or Said's friends 
for the sake of a Greek or an Armenian? Meanwhile the 
victim pursues his way or returns, lighter in purse but un- 
harmed in person, and makes no complaint to the authorities ; 
for he knows that Turkish provincial justice is tardy and ex- 
pensive, and that Said will have had plenty of time to retire 
into another Pashalik until pursuit has ceased. 

But it must not be thought that Said is an ordinary high- 
wayman, even of the Claude Duval species : he has many 
qualities in common with the long extinct knight errant of 
chivalry, and, when he hears a tale of injustice wrought by 
the strong upon the weak, he is ready to redress it if within 
his power, and to distribute a wild kind of justice without 
appeal to any other tribunal than his own arms and his 
own courage. Achmed of Hassanare has been cheated out of 
500 piastres by the Beylikji, or officer appointed to collect the 



Chap. VIII. 



GENEROSITY. 



110 



tithes of his village: Said waits for the culprit, takes the 500 
piastres from him and gives them back to Aehmed, without 
putting a penny into his own pocket, although he may 
perhaps gratify his sense of justice by bestowing a couple of 
dozen blows with the flat of his knife as a receipt in full for 
the amount taken. All things considered, the Balkan Chelibi 
has many fine points in his character, and no comparison can 
be made between him and any species of robber existing 
in Europe : to find his parallel we must go back to the days 
of Eoderick Dhu, of Eob Roy, of Eobin Hood, or of the 
Golden Farmer ; — he takes no advantages of numbers, for 
the gentleman of the forest is generally alone, or at best with 
but one companion, while no traveller with money ventures 
himself without a servant or armed escort amidst the Balkan ; 
he comes forward boldly and risks his life against that of 
the man whom he stops ; he never fires first, but with some- 
thing of the spirit which animated the English and French 
lines at Fontenoy, waits until he is fired at. He is not 
bloodthirsty, and few instances of homicide can be laid to 
his account : if he stops you, and you are armed, shoot him 
if you can ; if you miss, so much the worse for you. 

In a small way, the Balkan Chelibi even applies a remedy 
to one of the great curses of Turkey, for every pound which 
he takes by main force from the trader, Greek or Armenian, 
has been wrung by legal cheat ery from Turkish subjects, 
Osmanli or Christian, and if it did not fall into his hands 
would certainly not be spent iu the country where it has 
been gained : the foreign merchant in Turkey robs, and 
shelters himself behind the Capitulations ; the Balkan Chelibi 
robs, and having no Capitulations, takes shelter in the 
forest. 



120 



BRIGANDAGE IN THE BALKAN. 



Chap. VIII. 



But in time Said wearies of his nomad life, and, when 
years have cast a veil over his misdeeds, returns to his 
village and becomes an ordinary hard-working member of 
society ; his former life has left no taint upon his morals or 
character, and he is as scrupulously honest as are the vast 
majority of the Mussulman peasants. We know personally 
many Turks who have been Balkan Chelibiler, as well as some 
who are still exercising the profession, and any one of them 
may be trusted implicitly, and with no other guarantee than 
his word, with a sum of money w r hich to him would be 
wealth. If any one likes to try the same experiment with a 
Greek merchant or a Christian villager he is welcome to do 
so, but we, who have had some experience of this part of 
Turkey, should decline. 

It may seem curious that we should speak of robbers in 
r tones of apology, perhaps almost of eulogy, but when the 
Balkan Chelibi is compared with the other classes of brigands, 
his faults will appear almost as virtues. 

The second class, that of the Khersis y or highway robber, 
is by far the most numerous, and is one of the permanent 
sores of this country. As a rule it is composed of Kayahs 
who, abandoning their baptismal names of Vola, Michal, or 
Triantaphyl, call themselves Mahmoud, Mazim, or Hussein, 
put on big turbans in place of their sheepskin caps, and pass 
for Turks. The harvest has been bad, or the taxes heavy, and 
so they set off on a tour of the forest, furnished with recom- 
mendations to the different Christian villages which they 
purpose to visit. They steal horses, sheep and cattle, stop 
travellers, carry off the young men of a village, and demand 
a ransom for their prisoners. But their attacks upon 
travellers are carried out in a different way from that adopted 



Chap. VIII. THE COMMON HIGHWAYMAN. 121 



by the Balkan Chelibi. When notice is given that some one 
is approaching, the Khersis rests his gun in the fork of a 
tree, carefully covers with his weapon a certain portion of the 
road, and as the unsuspicious voyager passes this point, fires, 
without giving hirn the chance of preserving his life by a 
voluntary surrender of his property. 

If the aim is correct, the robber takes all the money and 
valuables from his victim, whose body he" buries in some 
remote spot of the forest, and goes off with his companion to 
the Tuhhan or public-house of some Rayah village, where a 
portion of the spoil is spent in wine or spirits. Perhaps the 
murdered man may be from the very village in which his 
murderers are carousing, and the fact of the crime be 
known as well as the names and persons of the brigands, but 
the criminals remain unmolested and depart unharmed. The 
reason for this is that there is not a Kay ah village in Bul- 
garia of which some of the inhabitants have not been lately 
robbers, or will not be such again, and they are very naturally 
afraid of counter-denunciations which will affect their own 
people. If Gebidjie arrests Janko of Uuren, of course Janko 
will turn Sultan's evidence, and tell all about Vassili of 
Gebidjie, and that will compromise some of the most 
respected families of the latter village ; therefore Janko is 
let alone. 

At first these bands of Khersis content themselves with, 
stealing cattle, &c, but an unlucky stab, given to some 
herdsman, who is imprudent or courageous enough to defend 
his charge, puts them under the ban of the police, and 
they extend their operations from cattle - stealing to 
murder. 

In the present state of these provinces, the repression of 



122 



BRIGAND AGE IN THE BALKAN. Chap. VIII. 



this class of brigandage is a work of great difficulty, inas- 
much as every Rayah Tillage is their accomplice, as well as 
the receiver of their stolen goods. 

" What can we do ? " said an officer of Zaptiehs to us, " we 
cannot catch the^ brigands, because the villagers give them 
information of all our movements. Why, Yassili took bread 
and meat to them again yesterday." 

" Why don't you arrest Yassili ? " 

" Of course I could arrest him, and he would be sent to 
Wicldin for ten years; but what's the good of that ?" 

" At any rate it would prevent others doing the same." 

"Not at all: if Yassili goes to Wicldin, JanaJci, and 
Dimitri will still carry food to the brigands." 

" Then arrest Janaki and Dimitri." 

" I might arrest all the men in the village, the women 
would take the provisions." 
" Then what can you do ? " 

" Just what I am doing — I eat and drink, and make my 
men eat and drink at the expense of the village." 
" I don't see the good of that." 

" It's very easy to understand. After a week or two the 
villagers will get tired of us, and will beg their friends the 
brigands to leave this part of the country, which will thus be 
quiet till they come back here again." 

Another conversation between the Authors and Nieolaki 
the Chorbaji (or head man) of this village, will still better 
explain the immunity enjoyed by the KJiersis. Nieolaki is a 
long-headed but honest man, uneducated like the rest of the 
villagers ; but, unlike them, he sees that things are not going 
on as well as they might do, and would be sincerely glad 
if a change could be effected. 



Chap. Till. LAISSEZ ALLER. 



123 



We had been talking of this evil, and suggested to 
Nicolaki that, as having some influence in Derekuoi, he 
might be able, if only in a small degree, to put a stop to it. 

"Now, Nicolaki, it is very well known that there is a 
man in this village who is a receiver of stolen goods from 
the brigands : I suppose you know whom we mean ? " 

u Perfectly." 

•'•'And you know the names of those who carried food to 
that band of* brigands who were about here last year? " 
"'Yes ; I know them. ! ' 

u Then why don't you have these people arrested and 
taken to Varna ; that would give a good lesson to the other 
villagers." 

•'•' I couldn't do that ; I am afraid." 

" What are you afraid of? " 

" "Well, you see. I am a man without grown-up sons to 
protect me, and I have no one here to fall back upon ; the 
people I arrested, and their families, would owe me a grudge, 
and I have uo protection against them." 

" But if you did as we suggest, you would have the protec- 
tion and approval of MitJiat Pasha, who is a just and honest 
man." 

•'•'What is the use of his protection? He is .at Rustchuk, 
and I am at Derekuoi, and some fine day I should get a bullet 
from behind a tree or a rock, and then where's Xicolaki ? 
Xo, if there were any organization in this village which 
could protect me, I would do the : ?e things; as it is, I am 
afraid, I am afraid ! " 

Of the class of Khersis there are many who are merely 
apprentices, and confine their depredations to stealing horses, 
oxeu, and sheep, without risking any attack upon the person 



124 



BRIGANDAGE IN THE BALKAN. 



Chap. VIII. 



of travellers. It would be very difficult to mention any 
family of Rayahs of whom at least one member has not stolen 
cattle, and the explanation of this fact is simple. There is 
even a sort of logic in the reasoning of the Bulgarian upon 
this subject. He says to himself, " Some one has stolen my 
oxen, I can't get any redress, so I will go and steal from 
some one else ; " but, like a wise man, he provides against 
eventualities, and if he has lost two cows, he goes to the 
pasturage of a neighbouring village and steals four. Thus 
in a Bulgarian Rayah village at least half of the oxen, 
horses and buffaloes have changed hands three times or 
more, and it would be almost as difficult to find their original 
owners as to discover the author of the ' Letters of Junius.' 

The Haydut, or outlaw, differs from the two preceding 
classes by having no friends except amongst his own band ; but 
he has two chances of safety — the inefficiency of the Turkish 
system of Zaptiehs, and the fear which he inspires. He 
seldom merely robs, he murders from sheer lust of blood ; a 
year or two's successful career of crime secures him a sort of 
prestige of invulnerability, and the peasants, Avho would 
willingly deliver him up, are deterred by the remembrance of 
the vengeance he has taken for such attempts as were unsuc- 
cessfully made. A noted character of this class was Kara 
Kostia, a native of the Greek village of Akclere in Rou- 
melia, near Cape Emineh. For years this man was the 
terror of the province, his band consisting of three men and 
a woman, but most often he worked alone. By an organized 
system of relays of good horses, he accomplished long dis- 
tances in a space of time which to the slow-travelling 
peasant seemed little short of miraculous. On Monday a 
traveller would be found murdered near Varna, and on 



Chap. VIII. 



THE OUTLAW. 



125 



Tuesday morning, a horribly mutilated corpse within a mile 
of Burgas showed the presence of Kara Kostia. Not content 
with merely taking life, he committed such atrocities as are 
hardly to be paralleled even by the brigands of Southern 
Italy. The Grovernment set a heavy price upon his head, 
but in vain ; he was hunted by the police, who might as well 
have pursued a will-o'-the-wisp as Kara Kostia, whose very 
flight was marked by fresh crimes. 

One man, a Turk, Hassan of Ayvajik, resolved to rid the 
country of Kara Kostia. Hassan had been a Balkan Chelibi 
in his youth, and perhaps for this very reason felt more 
contempt and hatred for the outlaw than others. He took 
his long knife and his single-barrelled rifle, went out into the 
forest, and for days stalked Kara Kostia with the same per- 
severance which he would have shown in following a deer or 
a wild boar ; but for some days no favourable opportunity 
presented itself. At last, however, the time came, and 
Hassan saw Kara Kostia riding down a road in company 
with his three male companions. What followed is best 
described in Hassan's own words to us : — 

" I waited till Kara Kostia and another were well in line, 
brought down the two with one bullet, drew my knife, and 
after a fight I killed the two others." 

This event happened about four years ago, when Hassan 
was over sixty years old. From others, not from him, we 
learned that he had refused the reward offered by Govern- 
ment to the slayer of Kara Kostia, saying that he " had only 
done his duty." * 

Another story of a famous Haydut was related to us a few 



* See Appendix H. 



126 



BRIGANDAGE IN THE BALKAN. 



Chap. Till. 



clays ago by an inhabitant of Yasahasch, who said that he 
had been an eye-witness of the tragedy. The fact of our 
informant being a Eayah would make us distrust his testi- 
mony, were not the details too picturesque and romantic to 
have been imagined by an uneducated Bulgarian. At any 
rate we tell the story as we heard it. 

A certain Stirion, a Bulgarian - Greek, and like Kara 
Kostia a native of Akdere (which village was till lately a 
mere nest of brigands), was the head of a band of thirty or 
forty brigands, and had distinguished himself by his success in 
escaping capture, and by his cold-blooded ferocity. He is said 
to have committed with his own hands seventeen murders. 

At last, however, a quarrel with one of his accomplices 
destroyed him. The negro Abdoullah had been one of his 
oldest friends, but, from some real or fancied insult, avenged 
himself by delivering up Stirion and his band to the troops 
of the Pasha. The robbers were encircled by a cordon of 
soldiers at the village of Kourouhwi, near Akdere, then a 
den of outlaws, and now a peaceful and industrious colony 
of Tartar immigrants. They fought with the courage of 
desperation, but were at last shot or cut down to a man. 
Stirion was the last survivor, and though wounded stood at 
bay near the fountain of Kouroukuoi. His betrayer, Abdoul- 
lah, marched up to him, and presented a pistol at his head. . 

" Fire ! " said Stirion. 

" I cannot," replied the negro, as his arm dropped to his 
side, " we have been friends." 

" No matter ; I will kill myself, but wait a moment, and 
before I die let me sing a song." 

And with the soldiers, a silent chorus, standing round 
motionless from curiosity or fear, Stirion began to sing ; 



Chap. VIII. 



JUSTICE DEFEATED. 



127 



the song lie chose was one which he and his betrayer had 
often sung together in happier if not more innocent days, 
and as he sang, the negro covered his face with his hands and 
wept like a child. When the song was ended the primo 
tenor cut his throat with his knife, and Abdoullah, the basso 
profondo, blew out his own brains with the pistol which he 
had aimed at his former friend. 

The whole story is sufficiently poetical to form a theme 
for a new 6 Masnaclieri or a 4 Fra Diavolo dei Balkan ' ; if 
true, it is at least curious as offering one of the few historical 
instances where a moribund hero or ruffian of real life sings 
a song before he dies, and as redeeming the Italian opera 
from the charge of being untrue to nature. 

An idea of the difference between the Balkan Chelibi 
and the Haydut may be gathered from a conversation with 
Khalil, a Mussulman and a member of the former class : 
he had been dining with us, and we asked him after dinner 
if he knew anything of Stirion. 

" Yes, I remember about him." 

"How long since was it that he killed himself?" 

" Eight years ago." 

" Did you ever see him ? " 

" Not I, he kept out of the way of us Turks, for he knew 
that any one of us would have shot him like a dog." 

"You don't consider him as a Balkan Chelibi, then?" 

" A Balkan Chelibi ! Why, he robbed people even of their 
clothes and murdered women and children ! " 

And Khalil shrugged his shoulders with a gesture of 
disdain and contempt untranslatable by words. 

A couple of instances will show how justice is evaded, 
and how robbers escape punishment in Turkey. 



128 



BRIGANDAGE IN THE BALKAN. Chap. TUT. 



One morning, two years ago, a crowd assembled in front 
of our hut, shouting, talking, screaming, and disputing, with 
the usual volubility of the Slavonic race. 

" What do you want ? what's the matter ? " said St. Clair. 
" Don't all speak at once, but tell me what you have come 
for." 

A deputation of Chorbadjis (head men of the village) 
entered the house. 

" You see, Sir, Said of Ahindji has just captured a horse- 
stealer in the very act, he has brought him here, and we 
don't kuow what to do with him ; Dimitri wants to let him 
go if he promises to bring back twice the number of horses 
he has stolen from our village." 

"Of course I do," said Dimitri, "for you want one of us 
to take him off into the forest, and what will happen then ? 
He'll just give a good thrashing to the man who's with him, 
as soon as he is out of sight of the village ! " 

" Very well, four of us will go with him." 

" And he'll thrash the whole four ! he's a brigand ! " 

All the villagers, Chorbadjis and Medjliss (village council) 
included, suggested a hundred different ways of getting rid 
of the culprit, but no one thought of delivering him up to 
the constituted authorities. 

Unfortunately, St. Clair thought he knew better ; having 
a personal acquaintance with Abdurrachman PasJia, then 
Governor of Varna, and considering him as an honest and 
well-meaning man, he imagined that to give up the prisoner, 
with conclusive evidence of his crime, was to ensure his 
punishment : so he had the thief, his captor, and the heads 
of the village, brought into the house. 

The examination of the horse-stealer was interesting 



Chap. YIII. 



A DOG-STEALER. 



129 



enough, for lie denounced not only the members of the 
band to which he was affiliated, but also the receivers of 
the property stolen by them ; amongst the latter was a rich 
and highly-resjDected Greek merchant of Bazardjik, a small 
town in the Pashalik of Varna. 

The prisoner's confession was taken down in writing, and 
re-translated into Turkish for the benefit of the 31ecljliss, 
who testified to the accuracy of the document. The culprit 
was then sent to Varna under the escort of Said, who being a 
Turk was not afraid of being thrashed by a Eayah, together 
with a letter addressed to the Governor and containing the 
details of the affair and the confession of the thief. But 
St. Clair was not able to write in Turkish, and, as Abdurraeli- 
man Pasha does not understand French, the letter naturally 
passed through the hands of the Pasha's dragoman, or in- 
terpreter, M. Commiano, a Greek by birth. 

No official answer was vouchsafed to St. Clair's letter, but 
a few days after this occurrence, when out shooting in the 
forest, he met the stealer of horses, who saluted him with a 
courteous and perhaps slightly sarcastic " Oughour ola" " hon 
voyager 

The explanation of this failure of justice is simple : on 
enquiry, St. Clair learned that the Greek merchant of 
Bazardjik, who was compromised by the disclosures of the 
robber, is a near relation of M. Commiano, and that the letter 
never reached the Pasha's hands. • 

In Turkey the Pasha's residence is always paved with 
good intentions, but this pavement is trodden by so many 
Greeks, and other Oriental Christians, that the only result is 
dirt and mud. 

Another instance of a slightly different kind : Some months 

K 



130 



BRIGANDAGE IN THE BALKAN. 



Chap. VIII. 



since a Greek, Hassan of Varna, sold us a hound, which a 
few weeks afterwards he stole from us whilst we were out 
shooting, and re-sold in a village thirty miles distant. 

We found out Mussulman witnesses of the theft who were 
ready to give their evidence when required, and we com- 
plained personally to the Pasha of Varna, who told us "that 
he was very sorry, but the Capitulations required that in a 
case of an affair between Englishmen and a Turkish subject, 
in which the latter if guilty would be liable to punishment, 
the British Consul should take official cognizance of the 
matter." 

So we went to H.B.M.'s (present) Vice-Consul at Varna, 
and that gentleman at first informed us that we could get 
the matter settled without his interference by merely apply- 
ing to the Pasha ; when we stated that this could not be 
done without infringing the Capitulations, we were told, 
with a good deal of hesitation, that "it was scarcely con- 
sistent with the dignity of a British Consul to interfere 
officially in a case of dog-stealing." 

During the reign of the Bourbons, there was an organiza- 
tion in Sicily which had a certain effect in checking brigand- 
age in that island. Companies of the farmers and their 
labourers were formed under the name of Qompagni d'armi, 
they enjoyed a rate of pay higher than that of the ordinary 
gensdarme, but from it they were required to put aside a 
certain portion into the chest of the Company ; their duties 
were to patrol the roads and to apprehend brigands, and 
if any unpunished act of brigandage was committed within 
their district, the sufferer was indemnified from their reserve 
fund. This system, however incomplete, worked well, because 
there was somebody who was responsible. In Bulgaria no 



Chap. VIII. CORRUPTNESS OF SUBORDINATES. 



131 



one but the Pasha or Kaimakam (Lieutenant-Governor) is 
responsible, and he is virtually unapproachable, for to reach 
him the peasant has to wade through a mire of corrupt 
subordinates, whose demands equally exhaust his patience 
and his purse. 



K 2 



132 



ORIENTAL COMMERCE. 



Chap. IX. 



CHAPTER IX. 

OEIENTAL COMMEKCE. 

A dishonesty which defies competition — A good stroke of business — 
Cent, per cent, for the merchant, but the producer suffers — Privilege of 
a Greek subject — Country agents — A little usury — Rising in life — 
Non-Greek foreign merchants — Base is the slave that pays — A swarm 
of locusts. 

" Profit " is the primary motive of the existence of commerce 
in all its branches, but if profit is not kept in check by com- 
petition it ceases to be legitimate, and soon attains such 
monstrous proportions as finally to ruin both producer and 
consumer. Where there is no competition there is monopoly, 
and the disastrous effects produced by this system upon the 
country which tolerates or employs it are too well known to 
need repetition ; in Turkey, however, monopoly flourishes in 
a degree happily unmatched elsewhere. In other lands it 
usually is but a last resource of the tottering finances of a 
Government, and even then is extended only to articles of 
luxury, such as tobacco ; in the East it is the special pro- 
perty of a foreign nationality, the bitter and declared enemy 
of Turkey, and is not confined to a few articles of consump- 
tion but embraces every species of trade ; all gradations 
of commerce or business in Turkey are in the hands of 
Greeks. 

The reason of this is easily explained. 
For competition to be possible it is necessary that the 
competitors should be able to use the same arms; competi- 



Chap. IX. 



A GOOD STROKE OF BUSINESS. 



133 



tion against Greek merchants is impossible, for no other 
trader is able to employ the same weapons so skilfully 
wielded by the Greek merchant in Turkey : 

" None but himself can be his parallel." 

The Turk is put out of the field by his innate honesty, and 
the European by his laws, which provide a punishment for 
fraud and for crimes against property. 

No code, but that of modern Greece, carries its patriotism 
so far as to shelter its subjects and proteges from the penal 
consequences which ought to follow such a career as that 
of the Eastern merchant who transacts business upon the 
Greek system. 

Entry into the guild of Oriental commerce is far from 
difficult, a few foolish scruples of conscience may require 
silencing if by some strange chance they should exist, but 
little capital is necessary : the only indispensable qualifica- 
tion is that the aspirant should be a Greek, for without 
this he will encounter nothing but hostility amongst his 
new brethren. The commencement of the commercial career 
is as follows : — Aristides arrives fresh from Greece at some 
port of Turkey, with a few piastres in his pocket, and a good 
"knowledge of business" in his head. For a day or two he 
walks about the town in search of an opening, and as he who 
seeks very frequently finds, provided he be not too particular 
as to the object of his search, the Chapter of Accidents soon 
puts him in a position to mount the first step of the ladder 
of commerce. A case of goods has arrived at the Custom- 
house with an illegible address : a little paint, and a fee 
to the Gumrukji (Custom-house officer) soon remedy this; to 
be sure there is no bill of lading, but another is easily manu- 
factured, and passes muster with officials who cannot read 



134 



ORIENTAL COMMERCE. 



Chap. IX. 



a European language : the case belongs to Aristides, as the 
first fruits of his applied " knowledge of business." 

Just after this lucky stroke, Aristides sees a train of carts 
laden with grain approaching the town, he goes out to meet 
them, represents himself as the emissary of Pisistratus the 
great corn merchant, and offers them a price thirty per 
cent, under the last quotation. The peasants hesitate, but 
they are accustomed to the capricious falls in the price of 
wheat, they see that the streets of the town are blocked 
up with arabas of grain, and finally a hundred piastres of 
earnest-money conclude the bargain, and make Aristides the 
owner of their corn. He runs into the office of Pisistratus, 
is directed to the cafe where that gentleman is playing 
billiards, calls him aside, and says, " I have just bought so 
many Mies of grain for you at fifteen per cent, under the 
market price, send out one of your men with me to take 
them." Of course Pisistratus is delighted with his portion 
of the spoil, and Aristides pockets his fifteen per cent* 
Next day the thing is talked over at the Merchants' Club, 
and Aristides wins golden opinions from all the members 
present; Pisistratus relates the history of the clever bargain, 

* It may be well to explain, for the benefit of country gentlemen, bow 
Aristides succeeds so easily in buying wheat at 30 per cent, under the 
quoted price; it is a common trick of Eastern grain merchants to send 
round into the country districts announcing a certain price per Mle, say 
100 piastres, and when some hundreds of peasants are assembled in or 
outside the town with their corn, a messenger is sent to say that no more 
than 70 piastres per kile will be given. The peasants have come long 
distances, often three or four days' journey, and sooner than return home 
again with their laden carts, they accept the depreciated price offered. 

No fall has really taken place in the price of grain, but the Greek 
merchants, acting together, see their way to " a good thing," and don't 
mind the road being rather dirty. 



Chap. IX. THE PRODUCER SUFFERS. 185 



and Brasides adds, " Yes, and I found out this' morning that 
the case of goods he sold me, (certainly I bought it cheap 
enough), cost him only thirty paras (three halfpence) for 
black paint, and five piastres bakshish at the Custom-house ; 
decidedly, Aristides is a clever fellow who will make his way 
in the world, and I hope we shall soon see him amongst us 
here." So henceforth Aristides' reputation is established, 
and he has no difficulty in borrowing a small capital at 100 
per cent, without further security than his proved com- 
mercial ability. He sets up for himself, and as his affairs 
prosper, that is, as he makes 200 or 300 per cent, profit, he 
is soon able to pay back the money borrowed, and even 
to commence lending to others at the same rate, whilst -he 
launches out into the grander enterprises of Eastern com- 
merce, which afford him still larger profits, and a wider scope 
for the exercise of his business talents. 

Should things turn out badly, Aristides converts every 
thing he can into money, leaves his office for the benefit 
of his creditors, and withdraws to another field of action 
where he recommences business : in the East this proceeding 
is called "failing" — it is regarded as an "inseparable acci- 
dent," and in no way damages the reputation of the merchant, 
for what trader in the East of five years' standing has not 
thus "failed"? 

Such is a fair sample of the ordinary career of the Greek 
merchant. We will endeavour to sketch the progress of 
the Turkish subject in the same road ; but, before studying 
individuals, let us glance at the general effects of Eastern 
commerce upon this country. 

It is a remarkable fact that Turkey, whilst its exports 
are enormous, imports but very little, for the imports can 



136 



ORIENTAL COMMERCE. 



Chap. IX. 



hardly amount to four per cent, of the exports : the natural 
deduction would appear to be that the country must be 
excessively rich in specie, and yet in truth it is miserably 
poor : this is a sad economical anomaly, but nevertheless a 
fact. Yet it is not taxation which ruins the country, for, 
as may be seen in the chapters which treat of " The True 
Position of the Kayah " and " The Taxes of Turkey," this is 
fixed, all things considered, at the lowest possible rate. If 
we seek for the causes of this permanent pauperism of 
Turkey, we shall find one of them in Oriental commerce. 

Eastern commerce is an illegitimate commerce, even 
leaving out of sight its prominent feature of dishonesty, 
for it is based not upon capital but upon credit, and upon 
credit purchased at an interest of sixty per cent. The profits 
accruing from it must therefore evidently surpass this per- 
centage before they can benefit the merchant, and by sup- 
posing that they only amount to cent, per cent, we are 
understating the question. 

In England or France, where the rate of six per cent, is 
rarely exceeded, and where temptations to usury are checked 
by the existence of large capitalists and of equitable laws, 
commerce taxes the country only to the amount of ten per 
cent, or one-tenth of the black mail levied by Greek com- 
merce in Turkey. 

Yet if the fortunes, or more correctly speaking the capitals 
in specie, acquired in the country were spent in the country, 
as in France or England, or if these capitals were used to 
encourage industry, these immense profits would be but a 
minor evil, the effects of which would be felt only by the 
producers and, par contre-coup, by the labourers, as is the case 
in England, where nevertheless the gross capital annually 



Chap. IX. 



DIAMOND CUT DIAMOND. 



137 



increases or at least is not diminished. But as in this 
country commerce is almost exclusively in the hands of 
foreigners, the gross capital does not increase, and leaves 
Turkey, to benefit other nations, whilst the land in which 
it has been gained is left equally destitute of specie and 
of produce. Such is, in our opinion, one of the greatest 
economical sores of Turkey. 

Again, were this commerce legitimately based upon 
capital, and subject to the compensating law of competition, 
the percentage of its profits would not exceed ten or fifteen, 
and the evil would be mitigated in so much as the country 
would lose but fifteen per cent, instead of 100; but to 
prevent this the Capitulations step in, and, thanks to them, 
the competition even of capital against the absence of 
honesty and justice becomes impossible. 

No man more honest than a Greek can live by com- 
merce in Turkey, and a curious proof of this is that the 
Jews, who in other countries subsist upon the scraps of trade, 
cannot here compete with the Eastern merchant, whose 
morality is such that Turkey is perhaps the only country 
in the world where the Jew is, as it were, compelled to 
become a labourer or an artizan. 

It may be objected, " Since you allow that large fortunes 
are made in the East, how can you say that its commerce 
is not based upon capital ?" 

We answer : first, because really large fortunes are rare, 
owing to a circumstance which acts as a counterpoise to the 
large profits made, namely, the absence of security; thus, 
the merchant who has realized a large sum of money well 
knows that, should he continue to speculate with it, it may 
be lost by the exercise of the same talent (in others) which 



138 



ORIENTAL COMMERCE. 



Chap. IX. 



gained it, and consequently he invests his earnings in some 
country where they will be beyond the reach of others like 
himself. Occasionally, one of these millionaires will embark 
some thousands in an affair which will double his stake in a 
few months ; but this affair is not one with other merchants, 
his debtor is the easily duped Turkish Government, and as 
soon as he has pocketed the winnings of his final coup, he 
betakes himself to Europe with his booty. 

Small fortunes made in Turkey are numerous: but for 
them what would become of Greece, whose soil is a desert- 
to the people of the West a desert, but peopled with the 
memories of great deeds and great men long since passed 
away, and leaving no legitimate descendants; but to the 
Hellene a desert which he abandons because there is no 
money to be made from it. But for them how would the 
Cretan insurrection have been kept up? Whose money 
purchased the Panhellenion, the Arcadi, and the Hellenos ? 
Without these fortunes, how would the swarm of parasites in 
black frock-coats and varnished boots, who abound in every 
Turkish town, manage to exist ? 

Are they grateful to the authors of their fortune ? ask one 
of them his opinion of the Turkish Government or the 
Turkish peasant, and from his answer judge for yourself. 

Thus far we have shewn the general action of Eastern v 
commerce upon the state of Turkey, we will now turn to 
the tenacula of the great pieuvre that drains the life-blood of 
this unhappy country, and, having traced its vital principle, 
we will glance at its many arteries. 

This vital principle is to be found in the Capitulations ; 
if these did not exist there would still remain a certain 
amount of corruption in the Turkish tribunals which might 



Chap. IX. PRIVILEGE OF A GREEK SUBJECT. 



139 



allow this commerce to drag on its existence during a 
period, but corruption might be punished or even eradicated, 
and then the great monopoly would be at an end. 

Such corruption would even act in some degree as a 
palliative of the disease by which it profited, as the bribes 
would at least be spent in Turkey : it may seem strange to 
say this, but what must Eastern commerce be when corrup- 
tion itself is preferable ? 

Let us suppose that the Capitulations are abolished, or 
have never existed, and take the imaginary case of an 
Englishman who has been cheated 'by a Greek, and whose 
cause is brought before a Mussulman court of law : the Cadi 
(Judge) influenced by bribes gives judgment against him, 
contrary to the evidence. 

The Englishman writes to the ' Times,' the British Consul 
storms, and the Cadi is deprived of his post as a lesson to 
those who may come after him. Unhappily, however, the 
Capitulations do exist in a very lively state ; let us see what 
chance our Englishman has in fighting against those granted 
to Greece, and the better to show it, let us take not an 
imaginary but an actual case, one of the many which occur, 
and which are not known outside the consular and mercan- 
tile circles of Eastern towns. 

The English firm of K. Brothers, of Birmingham, had a 
business connection with the Varna railroad then in course 
of construction by an English company: at Varna there 
lived a merchant who enjoyed the reputation of being one of 
the most honest and straightforward men in the town (every 
Greek gives himself this character, finding it useful in his 
transactions with Europe), and who was moreover the pos- 
sessor of an English Foreign Office passport, and registered 



140 



OMENTAL COMMERCE. 



Chap. IX. 



at the British Consulate as a British subject. He being thus 
subject to British jurisdiction, Messrs. K. Brothers believed 
that they might trust him as their agent for certain articles 
of merchandise, paying him a handsome percentage on the 
sales effected. 

Mr. M., the merchant in question, opened a " store " or shop 
in which he sold the articles sent out by K. Brothers, with 
whom he was guaranteed by a declaration of agency legalized 
at the British Consulate. He certainly sold at twice the 
rate of profit prescribed by the English house, but as the 
other shoj)s which dealt in similar imported wares of English 
manufacture were not content with a gain of less than 200 
per cent., his business was very large. 

In a short time K. Brothers sent out a further supply of 
goods, directing their English agent with the railway com- 
pany, Mr. G\, to examine the books of Mr. M. ; these were 
found to be perfectly well kept, and shewed a balance of 
1800£. in favour of Messrs. K. At the end of the year the 
English house asked that their balance should be handed 
over to them, and in consequence Mr. G. called upon Mr. M. 
with this request ; he was answered that his authorization to 
receive the money for Messrs. K. Brothers was not sufficiently 
formal. Mr. S. of Kustendji (an Englishman) was then sent, 
and received the same reply. 

At last the affair was put into the office of the British 
Consulate, and Mr. M. was sued for the whole sum, nearly 
3000Z., owing to Messrs. K Brothers — but in vain, for a 
barrier insurmountable by justice was encountered : the frau- 
dulent merchant had become a Creek subject. On learning 
this, the Birmingham firm gave up all chance of recovering 
their money, and knowing something of the peculiarities of 



Chap. IX. 



COUNTRY AGENTS. 



141 



modern Greek law, forbade their agent to commence any 
proceedings in the Hellenic Consulate, preferring to put up 
with their loss rather than to lose their suit and be saddled 
with the costs in addition. Immediately after this affair 
Mr. M. was elected a member of the Merchants' Club of 
Varna : he is still Hying and trading, and still enjoys his old 
reputation as an honest man* 

Keturning to the general features of Eastern commerce 
we find that not content with levying its percentage upon 
exports and imports, it even takes possession of the Govern- 
ment taxes : it buys, sells and resells the tithes, seizes upon 
such produce of the country as embraces articles of luxury 
(e.g. wine and tobacco) and whilst it has in no way con- 
tributed to the cultivation of the fields, it nevertheless 
raises the price of their produce by a system of action 
peculiar to itself. 

This system consists in spreading over the whole country 
a network of agents who little by little absorb the small 
amount of specie distributed by commerce amongst the 
peasants, buying up their remaining produce at a reduction 
of fifty per cent, upon its value. But, as in Turkey the 
European dress does not confer upon its Oriental wearer the 
courage and pluck of the European, the former would find 
himself utterly powerless in presence of the courage of 
the natives : he is therefore compelled to employ Eayah 



* A Greek Consul admitted to one of the Authors that in a case such as 
the one related above, the English firm would have had no chance of obtain- 
ing redress from a Greek tribunal, and he added that " he was sorry to say 
that in any trial for fraud, no matter how gross, committed by a Greek upon 
a foreigner, the former was always sure of an acquittal at the hands of his 
patriotic countrymen." 



142 



ORIENTAL COMMERCE. 



Chap. IX. 



agents, whose cunning is more than a match for that of their 
customers, and whose known poverty in specie ensures them 
against the attacks of brigands. The civilized Greek does 
not dare to risk himself amongst the dangers of the moun- 
tains, nor indeed will he venture five miles outside a walled 
town : the Greek who is not yet civilized becomes a Baked, 
and the village Bakal is the last, but by no means the least 
noxious, link in the chain of Eastern commerce. 

Any Christian Eayah may attain to the dignity of this 
position, provided he can count upon his fingers, and that he 
have a clear idea of profit and percentage. 

The village Bakal is usually a Greek, sometimes a Bul- 
garian, but invariably a Eayah: his stock in trade when 
he commences business need be no more than a pair of 
trowsers, or rather knickerbockers, cut after the Greek 
fashion, and an entire absence of anything resembling a 
conscience. 

He buys a barrel of wine at 30 paras an oke, with money 
borrowed at 100 per cent., obtains a stock of mastica (the 
common spirits of the country) on credit at 150 per cent, 
interest from some merchant in the nearest town, purchases 
a dozen tallow candles and a few salted fish, rents a hut, and 
opens his establishment. 

Let us examine his mode of carrying on his business : the x 
Kayah is returning from the neighbouring town where he has 
sold his wheat at 50 per cent, under its real value, that is, he 
brings back 50 per cent, of the value of his produce ; he 
stops at the door of the Tukhan, or Bakal's shop, and calls 
for wine ; he is served from the very same barrel which he 
made, and sold at 30 paras the oke, but he now pays for it 
60 paras : the money received for his grain therefore suffers 



Chap. IX. 



A LITTLE USURY. 



143 



a reduction of 50 per cent., or to put it in another way, 75 
per cent, of the produce of his labour has already passed into 
the capacious pockets of Eastern commerce ! If he purchases 
cotton or calico from the stock of the Bazergan (travelling 
pedlar), he loses still more ; or if he buys an English (?) knife 
at one of the town stores, he is cheated to at least the same 
extent. 

Happily for the Mussulmans, Mahomet appears to have 
foreseen and provided against the village Bakal, and by pro- 
hibiting the use of wine to his followers has prevented the 
Turkish race from becoming completely extinct in Europe. 

The Bakal has sold his barrels of wine and mastica, but as 
the villagers do not pay ready money, he can securely 
indulge in a little usury, and obtains from each of his debtors 
a signature (in the shape of a cross) to an I.O.U. payable at 
the time of Harman, or thrashing of the grain; this I.O.U. 
is marketable ; the Bakal sells it, at a discount of course, to a 
merchant who pays him in mastica, and he continues his 
trade. He has paid 50 per cent, more than its value for his 
mastica, so he cannot sell it to the peasant under a profit of 
cent, per cent., in addition to which he charges an interest of 
50 or 60 ; so he realizes clear profit of 100 to 110 per cent., 
which reduces the sum remaining in the hands of the 
peasant to 5 or 10 per cent, upon the value of his produce; 
Eastern commerce has absorbed 90 per cent., leaving the 
Kayah 10 per cent, in return for his labour and the produce 
of the fields bestowed upon him by the munificence of the 
Turkish Government. 

These are the effects produced upon the country by the 
Bakal. We will now follow him in his upward career. In 
a short time he has amassed a small capital invested in loans 



144 



ORIENTAL COMMERCE. 



Chap. IX. 



at 60 per cent, upon the only reliable security in Turkey — 
that of the peasant. He has bought a pair of varnished 
boots, and indulges the ambition of becoming a band fide 
merchant. * 

With this view he calls in his debts, and realizes. Shortly 
afterwards he strikes out boldly into the sea of commerce, in 
which he occasionally encounters a shark or two ; for whatever 
harmony a Turkish proverb supposes (perhaps erroneously) to 
exist among wolves, the genuine Greek shark has no scruples 
which prevent him preying upon his smaller and less audaci- 
ous Rayah congeners. Yery frequently, however, the Bakal 
succeeds in his new sphere, cheats the town with the same 
facility with which he taxed the country, and is soon able to 
buy the tithes of a village. His shop deals in contraband 
articles, such as gunpowder ; his gains from these and similar 
speculations enable him to farm the taxes of an entire 
district, and before he is an old man he is a millionaire — in 
piastres not in pounds — but even this is not bad considering 
the easy manner in which his money has been made. 

His reputation for wealth secures his election as Chorbadji, 
or mayor, of the town in which he trades. He still wears the 
Eayah fez (different in shape from that peculiar to the 
genuine Hellenes) but his Hellenic patriotism finds a vent in 
Greek breeches and white stockings. He is to be seen any 
day at the Oonac (Pasha's official residence) seated modestly 
on the very edge of a chair, and approving with humble 
salaams every word that falls from the sententious lips of the 
Governor. 



* The Authors mean to say a member of the higher branches of 
commerce ; hond fide is a term singularly inapplicable to anything con- 
nected with trade in the East. 



Chap. IX. 



NON-GliEEK FOREIGNER. 



145 



The Bakal's son, being destined for still greater things, 
" Per correr miglior acqua alza le vele," 

wears clothes of the latest European fashion (as translated by 
the indigenous tailor), and is vehement in his orations against 
Ottoman tyranny. Miltiades has studied political oratory, 
amongst many other arts and sciences, at the university of 
Athens. More fortunate than his father, he is a Greek sub- 
ject, and Eastern commerce in full uniform throws open the 
gilded portals of her temple, and invites Miltiades to enter 
even into the sanctum sanctorum. 

His fez changes its shape, for he is no longer a Kayah, he 
need not tremble before a Pasha, nor conceal the means by 
which he earns his money. He is a Greek gentleman, and 
can even speak Greek-French ; he speculates in the funds and 
upon the rate of exchange ; he " fails " and makes a fortune 
by his failure. Whilst he cheats you he grasps your hand 
cordially and calls you " cher ami." Miltiades will some day 
be one of the " leading merchants " and " most honest men " 
of Constantinople. 

There is yet another species of foreign merchant in 
Turkey — the European merchant as we will call him, to 
distinguish his class from that of the Greek. He is usually 
a consul, vice-consul, or consular agent, or at the least a 
brother, nephew, or cousin of the consul of some nation to 
which Turkey has granted Capitulations. He is by no means 
so clever as his Greek competitor, and his business does not 
flourish with the same bean-stalk rapidity, but his quality of 
consul, or relation to a consul, stands him well in stead. 
This dignity makes him a power in the eyes of the local 
government, and though he wisely avoids litigation with a 

L 



146 



ORIENTAL COMMERCE. 



Chap. IX. 



Greek subject, he can generally gain his suit against a 
Rayah, and always against a Mussulman. 

Turks form but an infinitesimal fraction of the merchants 
of the East. They are occasionally to be found as grocers in 
a town, but this branch of trade is more usually engrossed by 
Persians, who show a greater aptitude than the Turk for the 
petty details of commerce. The Turk is rarely anything but 
a shopkeeper on a very small scale, with a little band of 
friends whose custom is always to be depended upon. He 
manages to exist upon his small profits, but he never makes 
a fortune. 

We know of no Mussulman merchants in these districts. 
The reason may perhaps be found in the Report of Mr. 
Consul-General Longworth to the Foreign Office, dated 
Belgrade, April 10, 1867, and numbered 22 in the collection 
of Consular Reports on the condition of Christians in 
Turkey, presented to the House of Lords by command of 
Her Majesty. 

" In a mixed commission for the settlement of debts 
between Turks and Christians, and the proceedings of which 
have been brought to my notice, some 300 or 400 claims 
have been respectively brought forward on both sides. On 
the part of the Turks they were without exception, whether 
substantiated by written receipts or by oral testimony, at 
once admitted. Of those preferred in the same manner 
against the Christians, how many will it be supposed were 
in the first instance acknowledged by the parties themselves ? 
Not one," 

How could a commercial firm of Mussulmans exist amongst 
the Christians of the East, if it were to adopt the novel and 
ruinous principle of admitting its just debts ? 



Chap. IX. 



A SWARM OF LOCUSTS. 



147 



The Mussulman of the towns is then usually an artizan or 
manufacturer. He is a baker, gunsmith, blacksmith, carpet- 
maker, or shoemaker. He prefers gaining his bread by 
honest hard work, and hard work is repugnant to the finer 
susceptibilities of the Eastern Christian. A Mussulman 
tutunji (tobacconist) or kavehji (coffee-shop keeper) is 
occasionally to be found, but he is usually a "civilized 
Turk," and ipso facto a bad representative of his nationality. 

Mussulman and European traders are but the few excep- 
tions to the general rule that all commerce in the East 
is monopolized by the Hellene, or by the Greek or Armenian 
Rayah, but more especially by the first. Every year a swarm 
of individuals, whose only capital is a tall hat, varnished 
boots, and a " knowledge of business," which is born with the 
Hellene, alight upon the shores of Turkey. Of these every 
individual locust may not make his fortune, but at least he 
consumes enough of the produce of the land to enable him to 
live well, to wear a black frock coat and even gloves — 
luxuries paid for of course by the poor Turk or Kayah 
peasant. Add to the number of these comparatively insigni- 
ficant parasites the greater "pieuvres," and the legions of 
the Bakal tribe and of the Rayah trader. When you have 
done this you will have some idea of the extent to which 
Turkey is drained of the produce of her labour, and you may 
even see how great must be her vitality since she feeds all 
these blood-suckers and yet exists. 



148 REAL POSITION OF THE BULGARIAN RAYAH. Chap. X. 



CHAPTEK X. 

THE EEAL POSITION OF THE BULGARIAN RAYAH, HIS SYSTEM 
OF AGRICULTURE, ETC. 

Taxes on Agriculture — Neglect of Manure — Ploughing — " Why grow 
more ?" — Reaping — Six weeks' feast — Grain carried — Threshing — 
Vintage — Sheep Farming — Who is the injured party? 

The great mistake committed by most writers who attempt 
to estimate the position of the Eayah peasant, and especially 
by the authors of the British Consular Beports from Turkey 
in 1867, is that he is always looked upon merely in the light 
of a tax-payer, and not of a farmer of Government lands, 
although it is this latter condition which more especially 
affects his politico-economical status. 

In some districts the Kayahs rent land from the Beys — the 
Mussulman landed gentlemen of Turkey — and are taxed 
at the same rate as those who are tenants of the Govern- 
ment, but it is a financial mistake by which the Beys 
suffer more than their tenants. In most parts of Turkey 
and throughout Bulgaria, the Eayah peasants hold lands 
directly from the Crown. We shall therefore take this case 
as the rule, and by analysis divide the taxes paid by the 
Christian subject to the Turkish Government iuto two dis- 
tinct classes : — 

1st. Taxes paid by him as subject of the Sultan. 

2nd. Taxes paid by him as a farmer of Government 
lands. 



Chap. X. 



TAXATION. 



149 



In the first category are 



Piastres. 



A. The Bedel Askerie or tax paid by every adult Christian "j 

as exemption from military service ; it varies from 20 > 25 
to 30 piastres ; the average may be taken as J 

B. The income tax upon the head of the family (chorbaji),\ 

which like that of Russia, varies according to the> 30 
quantity of land sown, &c, &c, and averages j 



taxed ; for roughly he pays no more than eighty piastres per 
house, L e. fifty piastres for two * exemption taxes, and thirty 
piastres of income tax, or in English money at the present 
rate of exchange about fourteen shillings and sixpence, and 
even this calculation is a little exaggerated. 

He pays nothing for the land he occupies except the 
tapou, or registration tax of thirty paras per dulum, about 
four pence an acre. This sum is only once exacted, and is 
not an annual imposition ; upon its payment the Eayah is 
considered as bona fide proprietor of his lands. Taking this 
into account, the rent-taxes, as he may term the tithes, 
Beylik, &c, will be seen to be very small. 

To understand this better, let us take the case of any 
average Bulgarian peasant. He " owns " (that is, he has 
appropriated and paid for at the rate above mentioned of 
thirty paras per dulum, which amounts to the gross sum of 
21. 10s.) 150 acres of land. Of this he cultivates in grain 
fifty acres yearly, and pays as a rent-tax one-tenth of the 
produce ; potatoes and other vegetables pay no tithe, and 




* Assuming an average of two adult males to the family. 



150 REAL POSITION OF THE BULGARIAN RAYAH. Chap. X. 



are generally grown only by the BaJcehavan, or professional 
market-gardener. Thus for the 150 acres he farms from 
Government he pays only one-tenth of the produce of fifty 
acres ; the rest is rent free. 

Again, he has 1000 acres or more of pasture land, for 
which he pays at the rate of three piastres (6d.) per sheep, 
and four piastres (8cl.) per pig; cows, horses, and buffaloes 
paying no tax. This is not a very large sum in itself, and as 
the Kayah claims and exercises the right of cutting as much 
wood as he chooses from this land, a few cartloads sold at 
the nearest town soon pay the tax to which he is liable for 
his sheep and pigs. Thus he in reality enjoys an almost 
unlimited amount of grazing land from the Crown gratis. 

Surely no farmer in the world is placed in a more favour- 
able position, and if the Kayah. is not rich, it is the fault of 
his own innate laziness, and of the 185 feast days of the 
Greek calendar. Let him and his friends then blame 
the Patriarch and not the Paclischah, for the only really 
heavy imposition from which he suffers is that laid upon him 
by the Papas and the Metropolitan. 

The Turkish villages are taxed in the same degree, except 
that they often possess lands as grants for distinguished 
military services, or by genuine purchase. We shall allude 
hereafter to their position when speaking of the great 
revolution effected by Sultan Mahmoud, and of the spoliation 
of the Osmanli by his own Government for the benefit of the 
Kayah. But by his military service the Turk is deprived 
of more than half a year's labour for each year of his adult 
life* Fortunately for the Mussulmans, and in the Authors' 



* Vide Chapter XL on the Military Service of the Turk. 



Chap. X. 



PLOUGHING. 



151 



opinion for the world, he works harder and better than the 
Rayah, or hi? race would have been long since effaced from 
the ethnological map of Europe. 

The Bayah system of agriculture is perhaps unique. The 
plough, as has been already mentioned, is of the rudest and 
simplest kind that can be imagined. The team consists of 
four or six oxen or buffaloes, according to the quality of the 
land to be ploughed. In the selection of the fields he 
intends to till, the Bulgarian farmer appears to trust 
himself very much to chance, or to be influenced by the 
convenience of the moment. He will not plough the ground 
from which he obtained last year's crop, and he will not 
plough fields which though once put under culture, have 
remained fallow for ten years ; perhaps he has a fancy for a 
piece of ground yet uncleared, and in such a case he burns 
down the big trees, and digs up the thorn bushes till he 
considers the field fit for cultivation. Manure is to be found 
in great heaps everywhere in his village, merely waiting to 
be carted, but he disdains such adventitious aids to nature, 
either because he never heard that manure did any good, or 
because he thinks that it "burns the ground;" an idea 
which we have proved here, on a small scale, to be utterly 
fallacious, though unfortunately our experiment failed to 
convince the agriculturists of Derekuoi, who are all content 
to raise grain as it was raised by their grandfathers, and 
who look with distrust upon all new-fangled appliances, 
calling them marifetler " a word susceptible of many 
different translations, but in this case most aptly rendered 
by the slang term " dodges." 

At last, however, our farmer determines to plough a 
field in preference to any other, and he sets out with, his 



152 REAL POSITION OF THE BULGARIAN RAYAH. Chap. X. 



plough, his buffaloes, and four human aides-de-camp. 
Arrived at the scene of action, the buffaloes start, not with- 
out a painful effort. One man guides the devious plough- 
share, a second walks at the head of the leaders, a third 
surveys the wheelers knowingly from a little distance, a 
fourth pulls out his bagpipes and lightens the labour by 
playing the air appropriate to the favourite Bulgarian ballad 
of Deli Marco, whilst the fifth relates in a plaintive falsetto 
how King Marco kicked in with his feet the iron gates of 
Adrianople, took the city, and was finally slain by the 
infidel Mussulmans. Not far off sits an old woman with her 
distaff, who has come out apparently to see that everything 
is done properly, or to hear " King Marco," for it would 
not be easy otherwise to explain the necessity of her 
presence. She is always busy, however, as indeed are the 
females of most civilized or semi-civilized countries, and 
she works with a perseverance and rapidity which the male 
labourers are far from emulating. 

One of the effects of the misgovernment of this country is 
that every Eayah is the owner of more land than he knows 
what to do with, and therefore it is not to be expected that 
he should make the most of every acre. When he has turned 
one furrow, he ploughs on the other side of the ridge, so 
that his field is turned with just half the labour which an 
Englishman would give to the same surface. But even of 
this work, as of every other, Kayah human nature will not 
stand more than an hour at a time. King Marco is not yet 
killed, for the Slavonic ballads are almost endless in the 
mouth of a chanter gifted with a memory which embraces 
the whole of their innumerable stanzas, and his tragical 
death is left unsung, whilst the exhausted musician and tired 



Chap. X. 



"WHY GROW MOKE?" 



153 



labourers gather strength for new efforts by repose and 
application to their wooden flasks of wine. 

In an adjoining field is another gang of toilers, who are 
easily induced to cease from their labour and join our lotus 
eaters. The females of each party draw near and help to 
enliven the conversation, but they do not leave off their work. 

After half an hour's rest the ploughing is resumed, King- 
Marco is slain, and is resuscitated and again before the walls 
of Edirna by the time that another interval of dolce far 
niente is considered necessary. 

The amount of grain sown by the Bulgarian per acre is 
nearly three times that employed for the same purpose by 
the English farmer, and the amount of produce reaped 
equals the average of a good year in England : but, besides 
the smaller surface of land actually ploughed by the former, 
we must remember that his furrows are mere scratches about 
four inches deep, that the harrow is an instrument unknown, 
and that the seed is devoured by a countless flock of crows, 
pigeons, and other birds, which he never takes the trouble 
to drive off or keep away even by the simple expedient of a 
scare-crow. 

The bounteous crops with which these provinces are blessed 
are the results of a most fertile soil and a most favourable 
climate : little is due to the labour of the Kayah : * a little 



* If it were possible to kill all the pigeons who feed upon an acre of sown 
land in Bulgaria, to take out the grain from their crops, to throw it out 
hap-hazard upon any piece of ground which has once been in cultivation, 
even if it have lain fallow for years, and to prevent other birds from 
coming to it, the produce in corn would be at least as great, acre for acre, 
as that of any land tilled by the Rayahs ; this may seem an absurd way 
of stating a question, but it is very near the truth. 



154 REAL POSITION OF THE BULGARIAN RAYAH. Chap. X. 



more work and a little more intelligence would treble his 
produce, but if you try to explain this to a Eayah he will 
answer you, " Why should he trouble himself ? if he wants 
to sow more grain he has plenty of land : Avhat he sows is 
enough for himself, his family, the taxes, and to sell at the 
town, and if he raised more grain he would have to pay more 
Beylik ! " As you can seldom get beyond this last piece of 
logic with a Bulgarian, it is perhaps best to leave him alone 
until his calculating powers are developed by some system of 
education other than that at present in force. 

The culture of Indian corn requires rather more trouble 
and attention than that of wheat, and for this reason it is 
commonly left by the Bay ah to the women : for the same 
cause and from its being less certain of success but little of 
it is grown by the Christians, and the Mussulman villagers 
are by far the larger producers of this cereal. 

The cutting of the grain is the occasion of a general 
pic-nic of the villagers ; the whole family, from the grand- 
parents down to the two-months-old lady, turn out and 
encamp under the shade of some spreading tree near the 
cornfields : wine, bread, and sour crout are in abundance, and 
neither King Marco nor the bag-pipes are absent. After an 
interval of recreation, the women, girls, and children take 
up their sickles and begin to work, whilst the men and 
youths smoke their cigarettes in the shade, with that pleasant 
feeling enjoyed by a lazy man who sees others perspiring 
under a hot June sun, whilst he is stretched at full length 
in some cool place with plenty of tobacco and light wine 
within reach. 

In about a week the corn is reaped and the sheaves bound 
up, but it would be gunah, a sin, to carry the grain inline- 



Chap. X. 



THE HARVEST. 



155 



diately, and so it is left upon the fields for six weeks. These 
six weeks are employed by the peasants in dancing, feasting, 
and drinking; and to set about any work, except perhaps 
that of cutting down the Sultan's forests for the benefit of 
town or village hearths, would be wrong in the eves of the 

O 1 CD J 

Papas. In the mean time however the sheaves are not left 
untouched, for millions, literally millions, of turtle cloves, 
apparently attracted by the unlimited supply of food placed 
within their reach, congregate in every field : what the farmer 
loses by their meals is not easily calculated, but to gastro- 
nomic epicures we can heartily recommend the Bulgarian 
grain-fed turtle-dove as an excellent though little known 
dish. 

At last the six weeks' feasting is ended, the tax-collectors 
have taken their tenth, and the grain is brought home from 
the fields : then begins the work of threshing ; the earth 
of the hurdle-fenced inclosures before each house is beaten 
and stamped down until it acquires the solidity necessary 
for a threshing-floor, and the herds of half-wild horses which 
during the rest of the year roam loose in the forest are 
driven into the village, which for some ten days is almost 
unapproachable, the air being rilled with flying chart' and 
dust, and the ears ringing with the guttural cries of the 
peasants urging their team of twelve or fifteen reeking horses 
round and round the enclosures. 

The sifting of the grain is entirely the work of the un- 
married girls, and when this final operation is finished, it 
is housed in the queer wooden granaries constructed for the 
purpose. Then comes the calculation of how much is to be 
kept for household use, how much must go to the merchant 
who lent 4Z. in November to be repaid 101. in July, how 



156 KEAL POSITION OF THE BULGARIAN RAYAH. Chap. X. 



much to the Bakal to pay the house-father's account for 
wine, tobacco, and mastica, during the past year, and finally 
how much will remain for sale to the corn merchants of the 
town. 

When the Harman is over, the Bulgarian has little to do 
except to enjoy himself in his manner during another three 
weeks' feast and to wait until his grapes are ripe, or rather 
till he supposes they ought to be ripe, for he seldom 
waits till they are properly matured, not being particular 
as to the quality of his wine, so that it be sufficiently heady 
to afford him the luxury of getting drunk upon it. 

The vintage occupies only two or three days and is another 
universal pic-nic, which takes place in the Baghla or vine- 
yard : this vineyard, which also contains the peaches, melons, 
and apricots of the village, is generally situated at some 
little distance, and guarded by a Behji or watcher. Even in 
the Eayah villages the Behji is invariably a Mussulman, as 
the Christians themselves allow that they could not trust 
one of their own faith, who would certainly allow himself to 
be bribed by the inhabitants of the neighbouring villages, 
and suffer them to come with carts during the night to 
carry off the grapes and other fruits : the Turk or Arnaout, 
however, is incorruptible, even in the opinion of the Eayah. 

The average pay of a Bekji for his eight or ten weeks' 
guard is five hiles of grain, in value about 41. 5s., a small 
proportion of the grapes, and his food gratis : his duty is to 
stay in the vineyard night and clay, to watch the vines and 
shoot all foxes, village dogs, or other thieves and trespassers, 
who may come into the enclosure. If the vineyard is very 
large, the Bekji constructs a sort of perch eight or ten feet 
high from which he looks out for intruders; his sleeping 



Chap. X. 



SHEEP FAKMING. 



157 



apartment is a lean-to of thatch, in shape like a French 
tente cVabri. 

The process of making wine is simple : the press is the 
primitive one of men's feet ; and in onr neighbourhood 
white and purple grapes are mixed indiscriminately in all 
stages of greenness, ripeness, or rottenness: excellent wine 
might be made if the peasants knew anything about the 
proper method of manufacture, but like all the other re- 
sources of Turkey this branch of industry is extremely 
neglected. As the Rayah is not even aware of any other 
way to prevent wine turning acid, he puts into it a 
bitter herb when the fermentation has ceased, and of course 
thereby utterly destroys any claims to excellence which 
under other treatment it might have acquired. The Bakal, 
to suit the taste of his customers, adds another herb 
which has the effect of making the wine more heady and 
more rapidly inebriating, for drunkenness is too often the 
only object of the Eayah who drinks ; he might say with 
the Negro, "Me drinkee for drunkee, me no drinkee for 
dry." 

Sheep farming is carried on extensively in Bulgaria, the 
system adopted being equally primitive with that of plough- 
ing. The sheep are turned out upon the pasture-land of the 
village under the superintendence of a herdsman (the Chobari) 
whose duty it is to look after them just as much or as little 
as he likes. The vocation of a Choban is one much affected 
by the Bayak youths and men, as he has nothing to do but 
to saunter lazily after his sheep, leaving to his dogs the care 
of collecting stragglers, and he has consequently unlimited 
time at his disposal for the concoction of variations upon the 
air of Deli Marco ; the choban is never to be found without 



158 REAL POSITION OF THE BULGARIAN RAYAH. Chap. X. 



a bagpipe or a flute, with which he solaces his lonely hours 
and scares away eagles and wolves from his flock. 

The male iambs are sold, and the females kept, as the 
latter pay no tax until they have lambed : the milk of 
the ewes is mixed with that of goats, and a very indifferent 
sort of cheese and yaourt (a kind of curds and whey) is made 
from it. The wool is used for household purposes or sold ; 
in either case it is not cleaned, as the Bayah cleverly argues 
that the dirt in it will make the weight heavier : he does not 
however proceed so far with his reasoning as to reflect that 
the price he receives per oke is much less than that paid 
for the cleaned wool of the Turkish villages. 

The only animal to which the Bulgarian pays any real 
attention is his buffalo, which in winter occasionally enjoys 
the luxury of a little straw to eat, a gift denied to Ms cattle 
and sheep ; but little hay is made, and that little is usually 
sold in the towns ; turnips are utterly unknown, and it is 
hardly too much to say that if snow were to he on the ground 
for two consecutive months there would probably not be 500 
cattle or sheep left alive in the whole of Bulgaria. 

We have now seen the Bayah " at work " passing the small 
portion of the year not given up to unmitigated idleness in 
a lazy imitation of labour ; his working days are pic-nics 
enlivened by music and wine, and he exerts himself just 
enough to return to his hut with a good appetite. 

Let us compare this Bayah, as we know him to be, with 
the idealized Eastern Christian for whom Europe is almost 
ready to enter upon a nineteenth-century crusade. 

Everywhere, but above all in this country which is only 
known to the AVest by the pictures of Hellene magic lanterns 
and Bussian phantasmagoria, the romantic becomes in the 



Chaf. X. 



WHO IS THE INJURED PARTY ? 



159 



highest degree absurd when viewed as it really, is, and not 
as it appears when seen by the deceptive light of sentiment 
or of political interest. 

Observe the Rayah in his fields, in his cottage built of 
mud and plastered over with cow-dung, or lying drunk at the 
door of the Baked; how different is this animal from the pen- 
sive Christian, oppressed by the infidel, enduring martyr- 
torments with a martyr's courage, and secretly brooding over 
the glorious memories of his obscured nationality, whilst he 
breathes a patriot prayer, such as that by which the people 
of Poland made Russia tremble and almost raised a feeling of 
sympathy in the heart of the Governments of the West, 
despite the triple shield of indifference which guards them 
from all pity save for " the sufferings of the Rayah." 

Yet such is the light in which the Rayah is presented to 
the eyes of Europe by travellers who pass through the country 
as quickly as — as the state of the roads will permit them — 
and whose only remembrance of it is a vague souvenir of 
picturesque costumes, of songs sung in a language which 
they did not understand, and some pamphlets written or 
profound remarks suggested by a Greek or Russian Consul. 
To those who have studied the Rayah question deeply, seri- 
ously, and impartially, a very grave social question presents 
itself : Is it right to give too much to a man ? Too much 
time, too much liberty, too much land, too much of every- 
thing? And especially is this right, when such a man 
abuses the gift and employs the resources confided to him 
merely to keep himself in idleness ? 

Sucji is the question which in spite of the early prejudices 
of education and ignorance must strike any one who has 
conscientiously studied a Rayah village. In our opinion one 



160 REAL POSITION OF THE BULGARIAN RAYAH. Chap. X. 



of the gravest economical faults, or perhaps even crimes, of 
the Turkish Government is the unbounded license which 
its mistaken generosity has granted to its Christian subjects. 
Work is the law of humanity: yet the twelve millions of 
Christian subjects of the Sultan escape this elsewhere uni- 
versal necessity by the lenity of a Government which Europe 
has been taught to consider tyrannical and oppressive. 

The English or French labourer must work six days in the 
week, or 313 days in the year, in order that England and 
France may " live " : the Eayah works one day in three or 
120 days in the year ; is this fair to the labourer of France 
and England ? 

European Turkey occupies perhaps a fifth of the wheat- 
producing surface of Europe, and is by Nature intended to 
be the granary of the world : thanks to the idleness of the 
Eayah it prod aces less than one-third, or even but one-fourth 
of the amount of grain which should be grown upon it : thus, 
f of i, or ^V? that is 15 per cent, of the entire produce 
of Europe, are lost by the nullity of the Kayah considered as 
a labourer, and with the consent of the Turkish Government. 
One of the consequences of this loss is that the French and 
English labourer pays 15 per cent, more for his loaf of 
bread than he ought to do. 

The non-value of the Kayah as producer affects then 
the price of bread in Europe to the extent of 15 per 
cent., but as we see from the last chapter, Oriental Com- 
merce, the plague of Europe, raises this percentage to 20 or 
even 25. The Eastern grain trade is chiefly dependent upon 
the Eayah, and we may therefore consider him not only 
as a social non-value, but as an active instrument of evil 
to Europe. 



Chap. X. 



WHO IS THE INJURED PARTY ? 



161 



If the Rayah worked as he ought to work, England and 
France would buy their bread 20 per cent, cheaper, which 
means that the labouring classes in these countries would 
live one day more in six; and this 20 per cent, might perhaps 
even do much in checking pauperism ; this aspect of the 
Rayah, is probably a novel one, but surely it merits serious 
consideration.* 

The resume of this chapter is easily made ; we say that 
the Rayah, far from being oppressed by his Government, is 
in reality the oppressor of Europe. Let those who can not 
merely deny, but disprove the exactness of our data, draw 
a different conclusion. 



* If the fall of prices 'were checked at a certain point by diminished pro- 
duction in other regions following as its consequence, and if the labourer 
were prevented from receiving the full benefit of the fall even to this point 
by a fall in wages also following from it, he would even then, we maintain, 
be considerably a gainer, and is by comparison at present a sufferer to a very 
appreciable extent. 



162 



MILITARY SERVICE. 



Chap. XI 



CHAPTER XL 

THE EXEMPTION OF THE RAYAH FROM MILITARY SERVICE, 
AND ITS EFFECTS UPON THE TURK. 

Misconception prevailing in Europe — Original land-tenure — Alteration 
in consequence of so-called military reforms — Unequal burden imposed 
on the industry of the Turk by military service — Eeform suggested. 

Greatest among the anomalies of Turkey is one which by 
its inordinate injustice astonishes even those who through 
long experience of the country haye ceased to be astonished 
at anything else. The Mussulman alone pays the tax of 
blood, the Kayah is wholly exempt from military service. 

Europe makes a note of the fact, and thereupon proceeds 
to draw from it the most extraordinary conclusions. Accord- 
ing to her idea it is the Christian in vain aspiring to the 
honour of bearing arms in the service of his country, who 
painfully feels the inequality of the situation, and is for ever 
seeking redress from rulers who shrink from conceding 
a privilege which may one day be used in the vindication of 
rights ignored and trampled upon. 

Sentiments such as these may indeed be seen every day in 
the foreign newspapers of Constantinople. Trace them to 
their authors, ask whose are these longings for instruction 
in military discipline and strategy, and you will find that 
they are the exercitations of some learned Armenian, who 
certainly undertakes a great deal in answering for the 
martial tendencies of his compatriots, or else that a Bui- 



Chap. XI. 



ORIGINAL LAND-TENURE. 



163 



garian of comparatively advanced education has availed 
himself of his skill in penmanship to sign his name to 
an article which some European politician has written for 
him. 

As for ourselves, whilst complaining of the injustice as 
loudly as any of the friends of the Kayah, we assert that it 
is not he but the Turk who suffers— and suffers terribly — 
from the anomaly of which we are about to treat, and for 
clearer understanding of which a brief historical sketch is 
necessary. 

When Orchan, the son of Osman, organized his system of 
conquest and his troops (who formed the first regular army 
known in Europe), he created a motive for territorial aggran- 
disement, and a desire to retain the country conquered, by 
granting the lands of the vanquished to his victorious soldiers, 
who held them on the condition of military service, and were 
bound to follow the Sultan in his wars. 

The foot soldier (piade) received a grant of land free from 
all taxes, and even obtained the right of levying certain 
imposts upon the Rayahs or conquered nations who continued 
to live upon the territory thus conceded to him ; the Timars, 
Ziamets, and Beys, thus acquired considerably larger portions 
of the soil as well as a greater number of vassals, the Timars 
holding from 300 to 500 acres, the Ziamets from 500 to 
2000, and the Beys still more extensive estates. 

These military colonists or fief-holders were personally, as 
well as their lands, exempted from all taxes, and authorised 
to exact from the Eayah a tithe of his produce, a tax which 
was named Beylik, or impost of the Bey, a title which 
it still retains, although it is no longer the Bey who profits 
by it. 

m 2 



164 



MILITARY SERVICE. 



Chap. XI. 



Formerly the Turk, though bound to take up arms in time 
of war and to serve without pay, during peace remained in 
his own home, and received in compensation for his service 
lands free of tax, and a revenue regularly paid to liim by 
the Rayah : but even then the Rayah was not entirely exempt 
from military service notwithstanding the Kharatch paid by 
him, as besides the annual quota of a thousand Christian 
children who were enrolled in the ranks of the Janissaries, 
he was forced to follow the army in a non-combatant 
capacity in the army works corps, military train, &c, such 
auxiliaries being known as Woinaks. In the good old times, 
when money was worth ten or twelve times its present value, 
the Kharatch was probably sufficient to warrant his exemp- 
tion from the dangers of war, considering the services rendered 
in camp and barracks by the Rayah, and at any rate in time 
of peace the Mussulman had the best of it, but things are 
much changed in our day. 

The illogical revolution effected by Sultan Mahmoud in the 
Government destroyed the political, social, and economical 
organization of Turkey, only to replace it by a state of affairs 
which is best described by the Turkish word Kalabalik* 
The reforms inaugurated by the late Sultan Abdul Medjid, 
the famous edict of Gul Hane, and the Hatti Sheriff of 
1856, only made things worse, whilst Europe looked on and 
clapped her hands with the delight of a street boy at a " good 
fire." In reality, these concessions, which were to be so many 
steps in the upward path of progress, have proved an almost 
insurmountable obstacle in the way of civilization — an apple 
of discord thrown between the two races, a negation or rather 



* Confusion worse confounded, more chaotic than chaos itself. 



Chap. XL 



MILITARY " REFORMS.' 



165 



annihilation of undeniable rights, an infinite injustice, and 
one of the causes of the weakness of Turkey. 

We are far from disapproving Article IX. of the Treaty 
of Paris. What we wish to see is its stipulations literally 
carried out, and an amelioration of the condition of the sub- 
jects of His Majesty the Sultan, without distinction of religion 
or of race, and not a monopoly of this amelioration in favour 
of the Eayah alone. 

It is not our intention to examine the details of these con- 
cessions and reforms, but to study the effect produced by 
them upon the respective positions of the Mussulman and 
Christian from the point of view of military service. 

The Turks, as we have seen, enjoyed numerous privileges 
in return for their service as soldiers, before the period of the 
sweeping reforms " alia Turca " of Sultan Mahmoud. The 
summary abolition of the Janissaries brought about a radical 
but ill-considered change in the organization of the army. 
The old and powerful system of levees en masse from the 
various sandjaks (military provinces) was replaced by a con- 
scription, and the formation of a regular army which is cer- 
tainly the worst organized in Europe ; in short, French 
institutions were copied by Turkey with much the same 
success as would attend the efforts of a Parisian to make a 
cup of good Turkish coffee in the Turkish fashion. 

By the new system, every Turk was, as formerly, obliged to 
serve in the army of the Padischah, not as before for the 
campaign only, but for a period of years fixed by the Govern- 
ment, as in the case of the French conscript. Then, as the 
Government bestowed upon the soldier an infinitesimal * rate 



* See Appendix I. 



166 



MILITARY SERVICE. 



Chap. XI. 



of pay, always in arrear and sometimes never paid at all, as 
it clothed him in " shoddy " cloth, and armed him with a gun 
dangerous only to himself, it considered itself justified in 
depriving him of the Beylik which he received from the 
Rayah, and appropriating the sum thus obtained to its own 
use, as an equivalent for his pay and equipment. Had the 
Government stopped here, there would have been a sem- 
blance of justice in its proceedings : it went further, however, 
and yielding to the current of i: Reform," not only deprived 
the military colonist of the taxes he had raised from the 
Rayah, but in its pursuit of " Equality " thought it necessary 
to make Mm pay imposts similar to all those exacted from 
time immemorial from the Rayah. By a clemency incom- 
prehensible in such zealous re-organizers, they did not force 
him to pay the Kharatch, and though he has sinc£ been 
saddled with a tax upon income and property, he is (in com- 
mon with the Rayah who has served in the Christian regi- 
ments, the Cossacks of the Guard of the Sultan) exempted 
from the " Bedel Askerie," a sum paid by the Rayah in lieu 
of military service, and amounting on the average to twenty- 
five piastres. 

The concessions thus granted to the Rayah have produced 
two effects, differing apparently, but both tending to the same 
end of weakening the Turkish Government. The Rayah 
who sees himself suddenly placed in a position not only 
equal with, but in many points superior to, that of the Turk, 
is by no means grateful to the Sublime Porte, for he notices 
the coincidence of time between these concessions and 
disastrous or indecisive wars ; * and by the foreign secret 



* That of the Crimea, fur instance. 



Chap. XI, DISADVANTAGE TO THE TURK. 



167 



agents, and by the Greek clergy, he is confirmed in the 
idea that it is to Enssia he owes this amelioration of his 
condition. When a boon is considered as granted only 
by the influence of extraneous pressure, and not from good 
will or magnanimity, the donor can expect but little grati- 
tude, and it is not to be wondered at that the recipient 
should despise a Government suspected of subserviency to 
foreign influence. 

This reasoning is the one universally adopted by the 
Eayahs, and it easily explains their continual agitation, 
especially that of Crete, seeing they have arrived at the 
conclusion that Turkey is nothing, and Eussia everything; 
so that in spite of their habitual apathy, their idleness, and 
their ignorance of politics, they would perhaps break out 
into open rebellion at the bidding of those agents whose 
unceasing efforts tend always to this end, were they not 
as cowardly as they are ungrateful; the Eayah despises 
the Government of the Sultan, but he trembles at the sight 
of a Mussulman turban. 

The Turk, on the other hand, finding himself deprived of 
his ancient privileges, not only ruined by the new laws, but 
insulted (which to a Turk is harder to bear), and being no 
longer the Master but the Rayah of the Eayahs — he too 
reflects, and accuses his Government of a cowardice worse 
than criminal. 

Such are the effects of the new institutions in this country : 
whilst in Europe they are regarded merely as having opened 
a door to those foreign intrigues which they almost legi- 
timate, and whose object is the dismemberment of the 
Turkish Empire. 

But it is the injustice of those so-called Reforms that 



168 



MILITARY SERVICE. 



Chap. XI. 



makes them still more injurious to the country: the Turk, 
deprived of his privileges and taxed equally with the Rayah, 
is moreover forced to serve in the army — true, it is an 
honour, but an honour which costs him dear. 

The present regulations compel every adult Turk to serve 
in the army for a period of five years (in the navy of seven), 
after the expiration of which term he is placed in the 
Eediflik or Reserve for seven years more, and as this latter 
force is, consequent upon the continually harassed state of 
the country, almost always under arms, his active service 
cannot well be computed under a minimum of ten years.* 

The Turk however has the option of paying his exemption 
by a sum of 8000 piastres, rather more than 701. ; the price 
paid by the Rayah is an average of 25 piastres, or 4s. 6d, for 
every year of his adult age. 

The difference between these sums plainly proves our 
assertion of injustice, but to illustrate it still further we will 
cite an example, giving the real names. 

Mehmed Agha of Ayvajik, in Roumelia, possesses land 
which requires for sowing 300 Idles of grain, and he has 
two pairs of buffaloes ; he pays a property tax of 300 Turkish 
lire annually, besides the tithe and other imposts. 

Anastaz of the neighbouring village of Akdere, a Rayah, 
owns fields which require 500 kiles for sowing, and has eight 
pairs of buffaloes ; he too pays 300 lire per annum. 

Thus far the Christian starts with an advantage. 

But Mehmed Agha has six sons, of whom five are serving 
in the army, and the eldest of whom he has exempted by the 

* We have not taken into account the Bashi Bozonklouk, a force which 
is called out in time of need from those who have completed their service 
in the Rediff. 



Chap. XL DISADVANTAGE TO THE TURK. 



16 ( J 



payment of 8000 piastres, and he is forced to replace their 
labour by hired servants, to whom he pays 3000 piastres 
(about 28?.) a year ; whilst the four sons of Anastaz work, 
or get drunk at one of the numerous Tukhans of Akdere, and 
pay for the license of either employment only 25 piastres 
per annum. 

If now we submit this question of the non-service of the 
Eayah to an arithmetical analysis, its proportions become 
still more grave. 

Taking the average duration of life here, after twenty years, 
at twenty years more, that is from twenty to forty,* twenty 
years of the vigour and endurance necessary for constant and 
sustained labour, we know that the Turk is forced to serve 
from the age of twenty years, and that the Kayah then begins 
to pay his Bedel Askerie or Exemption Tax of 25 piastres ; 
thus the Mussulman gives to his country ten years of his 
adult age, or one-half of his most profitable age, whilst the 
Bayah exempts himself for these twenty years by the pay- 
ment, in minute instalments, of 500 piastres. 

There is another way of looking at this ; since one-half of 
the Mussulman's adult age is taken from him by tne Govern- 
ment, he has but 182 days in the year at his own disposal, 



* We do not profess to be actuaries, and if the amount of life we have 
given to every adult (we do not take into consideration the deaths of 
infants, which might reduce the general average of life to 33 or 35) seems 
too little, we beg the curious reader to find out how many 10 years' men 
there are in the ranks of an English company, and thence to evolve how 
many 20 years' men there might be. Of course this calculation only 
applies to the Turks, but to the Bulgarians drunkenness is as fatal as the 
Russian bullets, starvation, or the diseases incident to camp and quarters. 

In our village of 350 souls, 11 men between 20 and 37 years died within 
the yea) 1 , most of them from drink, 



170 



MILITARY SERVICE. 



Chap. XL 



whilst tlie Rayah lias the whole 365, paying only 4s, 6d. for 
the privilege ; the Christian should then produce, in a 
corresponding proportion, more than the Turk, but this is 
by no means the case, and if there is a difference in the 
amount of corn, &c., raised by the two, it is in favour of 
the latter : for this strange fact a reason is easily found 
in the innate idleness of the Rayah, and in the peculiarities 
of the Greek Calendar; for the Rayah profits by the gift 
of half the year, which the Ottoman Government makes 
him, to idle during the 183 days of Feast ordained by the 
Greek Church ; whilst the Turk marches and fights, the Rayah 
dances and drinks, and his exemption from military service 
is only a more or less direct encouragement of a gigantic 
parasitism and an authorized debauch.* 

Another phase of this question involves a point which 
touches Europe more nearly than all the rest, the state of the 
Turkish finances. 

The Mussulman subject of the Sultan pays as personal 
taxes (we omit those dependent upon produce and the 
possession of immovable property) a capitation tax upon his 
presumed income which averages 30 piastres, and he also 
pays to Government 182 days of labour, which the Govern- 
ment itself values at 400 piastres.! making a total of 430 
piastres. 

The Rayah pays the same 30 piastres, and a further sum 
of 25 piastres for exemption from military service ; in all, 
55 piastres. 

Thus the Mussulman pays in personal taxes in the pro- 



* See Appendix K. 

t Taken at the exemption price, 8000 piastres for 20 years equal 400 
per annum. 



Chap. XI. 



EEFOPiM SUGGESTED. 



171 



portion of 430 to 55, or eight-times as much as- the Rayah,* 
whence the latter may in justice be said to owe to the 
Imperial treasury a sum of 375 piastres every year, an 
addition which would be very welcome to the budget of 
Turkey, since, taking the number of adult Eayahs at only 
one-fifth of the whole population of twelve millions, it would 
amount to the enormous sum of 900 millions of piastres, 
between eight and nine millions sterling; to us it seems 
that it would be only just to exact this sum, since it can 
hardly be denied that if the Ottoman Government taxes its 
Mussulman populations to this extent, it has the right to 
demand an equivalent sum from the Christians. 

More than this, in the interest of Justice and of equality 
of all Turkish subjects before the law, as promised and 
guaranteed by the Treaty of Paris, it is the sacred duty of 
the Government to do so, and thus ,to increase its own 
prosperity and gladden the hearts of the holders of Turkish 
Government Stock. 

An objection might be raised against such an act, on the 
plea that to tax the Rayah 400 piastres instead of the 25 he 
pays at present would be to deal unjustly with him, since the 

* There are various other ways of calculating this difference, each of 
which tells strongly in favour of the Rayah ; for instance, a day's work 
in Turkey is always worth at least five piastres, and counting the working 
days of the Mussulman year, the year is worth 1500 piastres instead of 
400 piastres. Again the Mussulman paying for exemption 8000 piastres, 
whilst the Rayah pays 25 per annum, "buys his liberty at 320 years' pur- 
chase, without entering into the calculation of the respective value of the 
sum paid down and of that paid by instalments. It may be said that 
the Government feeds and clothes the soldier, but the labourer hired at five 
piastres a day is also fed by his employer, and the risks of war are 
certainly worth more than the very indifferent clothing given to the 
Turkish troops. 



172 



MILITAKY SERVICE. 



Chap. XI. 



Turk has the option of exempting himself or of serving, and 
because such heavy tax could not be paid by a poor man. 

This last objection is easily refuted, for, as we have seen, 
the poorest Kay ah has 182 days in the year more than the 
Mussulman, and 182 days of labour are' worth, even in 
Turkey, more than 400 piastres, so that the poor Eayah 
would only find himself obliged to work for 100 or 120 days 
in the year more than is his custom, and to spend less time 
and money in drinking. Furthermore we by no means 
advocate denying the Kayah the option of exemption, and 
we even suggest a great concession in his favour, viz., that he 
should be allowed to choose between the combatant and non- 
combatant branches of the service, and either to enter the 
Christian regiments of the Sultan or a corps of Forest 
Eangers, army works, army train, or any other such civil 
branch as shall be militarily organized. 

Although the friends of the Eayah may deny his obliga- 
tion to fight for the Crescent, they can hardly maintain that 
it is not his duty to contribute towards the material improve- 
ment of the country in which he lives, an improvement by 
which he will be the first to benefit. 

It would be easy to write at great length upon the details 
of this question, and to propose, for instance, that the exemp- 
tion tax should be proportioned to the means and social 
position of the person exempted, since it is unjust that the 
Hamal (street porter) should pay as much as the Eayah 
trader, who with a capital of 250Z. realizes an income of 300£. 
by the mysterious proceedings of Eastern commerce : in time 
of war too the exemption tax should (in our opinion) be 
largely increased. But it is not our duty to point out 
remedial measures; if the Turkish Government some day 



Cjiap. XL 



KEFORM SUGGESTED. 



173 



throws off its apathy and seeks to cure the wound it has 
inflicted, it will find salves enough and to spare. 

In conclusion we repeat that such a service as we have 
proposed would not be absolutely new to the Eayah; we 
have mentioned the organization of the Woinaks, which 
proves the fact of the Christians having formerly served, 
and Von Hammer attributes the rapid successes of Bajazet 
to an excellent system of Eayah camp servants and work- 
men. 

At that time, when the Turk was in the full enjoyment 
of all his privileges, and the Kayah had neither civil nor 
political rights, this forced service might have been a hard- 
ship ; but in the present day when the Turk is placed exactly 
on the same footing with the Christian as regards everything 
except military service (an exception which threatens the 
Osmanli race with extinction and ruin), when the Eayah can 
attain to the highest positions and the most lucrative posts, 
when all Government schools and colleges are open to him, 
there is no possible or even plausible excuse for exempting 
him from the tax of labour, whilst the Mussulman pays the 
tax of blood : as an old Turk said to us the other day, " Since 
they make Giaour Pashas, why don't they make Giaour 
nefers ? Decidedly our Government is deli or korkak." * 



* Nefers, private soldiers. Deli, mad. Korkak, cowardly. 



174 



THE TAXES OF TURKEY. 



Chap. XII. 



CHAPTEK XII. 

THE TAXES OF TURKEY. 

Taxes, personal and on property — Inequality of property-tax — Dime and 
its farming — Consequent loss to the revenue — Mode of collection, and 
injury to the cultivator — Pleas against reform — A land-tax suggested 
— Already exists in the case of vineyards — Customs — Corvee — Ex- 
traordinary contributions. 

In the preceding chapter we have stigmatized the gross 

injustice of the arrangement whereby the severest of imposts, 

that paid by the youth and available labour of Turkey, is 

distributed so as to affect but one Creed and one Nationality. 

This anomaly, which has never been appreciated in Europe, 
may perhaps have astonished our readers ; and the contents 
of the present chapter will furnish them with equal matter 
for reflection, if they take any interest in the welfare of 
Turkey, and have formed definite ideas upon the subject of 
those economical truths which are in our day recognized as 
the bond between Government and people. 

The authorized and regular taxes which are levied upon 
the subjects of the Sultan are of two classes : — 

I. Those which may be called personal. 

Piastres. 

A. The Virghu or tax upon the person and supposed pro- 

perty, which may be fairly averaged at . . 30 

B. The tax of blood, or of military service, which as we 

have seen costs the Mussulman . . . . . . 400 

And the Rayah (as Kharatch) .. .. .. ..25 

By these the Mussulman peasant or soldier is taxed 

annually .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 430 

Whilst the Rayah proletarian pays only . . . . > . 55 

II. Taxes upon the produce of lands granted and held 



Chap. XII. INEQUALITY OF PROPERTY-TAX. 175 

under a Tapou ; * these vary according to locality, but in 
Bulgaria consist of 

C. The tax of the Ashar, ' Dime,' or tithe of the produce of cereals. 

D. The Beylik or capitation tax upon various domestic animals. 

E. A tax upon orchards, vineyards, and market gardens. 

There are also indirect taxes upon various home or foreign 
products, which are paid to the GumruJc or customs. 

We have already sufficiently proved the hardship inflicted 
by the unequal partition of the exemption tax between 
Mussulman and Christian, the former paying in proportion 
to the latter as 400 to 25, or 16 times more than his 
favoured fellow subject. 

As for the Virghu or property tax, we have given one 
instance out of a thousand, the case of Mehmet Agha and 
Anastaz, in which the Turk pays the same sum as the Eayah 
for an estate which is only about one third as large : it follows 
that there must be either a very faulty and unjust system of 
classification or, what is possible but not probable, venality 
or peculation on the part of the collectors of this tax ; this 
last hypothesis we qualify as improbable, not from any high 
opinion of the character of the tax-gatherers as a body, but 
because the details of extent of property, sum paid, &c, &c, 
in each case are set forth in the official Teslceres or receipts 
for taxes, and this would act as a check upon fraud ; rejecting 
then this supposition, we conclude that the system of valua- 
tion is excessively imperfect. 

As regards the tax upon produce, or dime, it will be seen 
from the brief historical sketch given in the last chapter 
(and without the aid of arguments which we reserve for 



* This system of tenure will be explained in the following Chapter. 



176 



THE TAXES OF TURKEY. 



Chap. XII. 



another place), that a great injustice is committed upon the 
Turk, who, from being the receiver of a certain tax, has been 
reduced to pay it himself; at any rate he should be considered 
as bona fide proprietor of the land he cultivates, and conse- 
quently the taxes paid by him upon his produce are really 
taxes, whilst the Eayah, whose tenure of land (if not illegal) 
is not on the same footing with that of the Mussulman, is in 
reality merely a farmer of Government lands, and the tithe 
paid by him is no longer a tax, but a rent paid for the 
ground he holds. 

Without further remark upon the unequal manner in 
which these taxes press upon the two populations of Turkey, 
we will pass to a detailed examination of their general effects 
upon the state of the country. 

The most important of these taxes is the dime of produce, 
which (putting aside for the moment the bad economy it 
leads to) is raised in a manner equally disadvantageous to 
the treasury and the country, for it is not collected by 
Government officials but sold to tax farmers — what this sale 
involves will be understood when we remember that the 
buyers are speculators to whom 50 per cent, is a despicable 
profit. 

The tithes of the Vilayat are sold by auction, and if bought 
by a single person are resold, privately, by Pashaliks or dis- 
tricts, which are again sold in small lots, so «that the final 
proprietor of the tithes of a village has obtained them at 
fourth or fifth hand and consequently three or four different 
profits have already been made, each of which, to take a 
very low average, reaches 30 per cent., the whole forming a 
loss to the Government of 120?. to 185?. for every 100?. it 
receives. 



Chap. XII. 



FAEMEES OF THE DIME. 



177 



He does not, however, lose by the bargain, for any com- 
mercial transaction with the Turkish Government is sure to 
put money into the pockets of everybody who has to do 
with it, even to the last link in the chain of the tithe- 
farmers, and if the Beylikji* of a village does not contrive to 
gain at least 100 per cent, upon his purchase, he is either less 
skilful or more scrupulous than most of his fellows. 

Those whose trade it is to whitewash ruinous or tottering 
institutions so as to give them an appearance of strength and 
solidity have not forgotten to daub over the laws which regu- 
late the farming of the tithes, and have even invented new 
regulations concerning the manner in which payment is to be 
made and the method in which the sale is to be conducted, 
as well as the qualifications necessary in a purchaser; for 
Turkish reformers have yet to learn that mere palliatives will 
not cure a disease which requires the knife of the surgeon. 

There is no doubt that these new laws, which forbid an 
employe of the Government to become a purchaser of the 
tithes, which compel the auction to be held in public, and 
which even permit a village to buy its own tithes, are but 
so many evasions which can be recognized as valuable 
reforms only by the facile good nature of Europe; in Turkey 
all laws are easily eluded, and these perhaps more easily 
than any others. 

Even if we admit that these checks have extirpated or at 
least thrown obstacles in the way of abuses in the collection 
of the tithes (which may be the case under the jurisdiction of 
a man like Mithat Pasha), and that by their aid some 
millions of piastres have been rescued from the illegal pecu- 



* Acquirer of the tithe or heylik. 



N 



178 



THE TAXES OF TURKEY. 



Chap. XII. 



lations of a few employes, still the ruinous absurdity remains, 
in the fact that the country pays three or four times more 
than is received by the Imperial treasury : in other terms, 
the collection of the tax costs the Government from f to f 
of what is really paid by the people, and -Eastern commerce, 
or rather Eastern speculation, which we have shown to be a 
monopoly of the Greeks, taxes the Ottoman Budget to the 
extent of f or J of its principal source of revenue — and it is 
hardly necessary to say more in proof of the absurdity, in a 
financial point of view, of the present system of tax farming. 

In the collection of the tithe upon grain the tax-farmer 
has not very many opportunities of abusing his power, as he 
can do little more than choose the finest sheaves for himself, 
but in localities where this tithe is taken from olives, cocoons 
of silk, and other produce which cannot be estimated in the 
same manner as sheaves of corn, the farmer does not forget 
to bring with him his falsified weights and measures, whilst 
his natural ingenuity will suggest other means of getting as 
much as he can out of the poor peasant.* 



* To give an idea of the profits realized by the tax farmer; the dime 
and beylik of onr Tillage was sold in 1867 for 400 Turkish lire, and the 
purchaser made, by the grain alone, 950 lire, a clear profit of 137| per 
cent., and in this instance the farmer was a Turk, and therefore probably 
less " business-like " than a Greek would have been. The farmer of the 
t axes of Baltchik cleared more than 4000Z. in the same year, but we are 
unable to state the sum he paid for his bargain. Ckmnting the gains of 
-he tax farmer of a village in a grain-producing district (other localities 
being still more advantageous to him) at only cent, per cent., and those of 
the respective purchasers of the Pashalik and district at 50 per cent, each, 
we obtain the gross sum of 200 per cent., which reduces the sum paid 
to Government to one-third of that paid by the peasants ; startling as this 
calculation may be, it is to our knowledge not exaggerated, but might be 
raised still higher without exaggeration. 



Chap. XIT. 



COLLECTION OF THE DIME. 



179 



The maimer in which the tax-farmers collect the tithe is 
generally as follows : a little before harvest time they send 
to view the standing corn and estimate its value ; if the 
harvest is likely to be a bad one and promises but small 
profits, they besiege the residence of the local Governor, and 
bv the intervention of the original purchaser either procure 
a remission of some part of the sum paid to Government, or 
leave to take a smaller or larger percentage from the peasant, 
the difference to be made up the next year.* 

The day of harvest arrives and the grain is cut. but not a 
sheaf mav be carried home until the tax-farmer or his dele- 
gate comes to take his share: to the Rayahs this is no great 
hardship, as their feast of 15 days occurring at this period 
prevents their working ; but the Turk suffers much by it, as 
the Beylikji frequently appears two or three weeks after the 
corn has been cut, during the vhole of which time it remains at 
the mercy of the weather, or of the pigeons who never fail to 
exact their tithe from it. In looking at the sheaves thus left 
upon the fields we have frequently noticed that from the 
heat of the sun and other causes much of the grain falls out, 
and that instead of sixty or seventy grains in the ear we 
could rarely find more than a third of that number, whilst 
every day the loss became greater and greater. 

The loss thus occasioned cannot be estimated at less than 
six or eight per cent., and the tithe costs the peasants sixteen 
or eighteen instead of ten per cent., through the negligence 



■ * It is not often that the Government gives up any part of the money 
it has received, hut permission is easily granted to take either 5 or 15 per 
cent, of the produce instead of 10. As the harvest of 1S67 was a very- 
plenteous one, the tax was raised from 10 to 15 for the benefit of the 
farmers, and next year it will only be 5 or 7%. 

N 2 



180 



THE TAXES OF TURKEY. Chap. XII. 



of the tax-farmer, who, though he must be aware that he 
loses in proportion, probably regards such an infinitesimal 
percentage as of no account, being occupied during this time 
with other affairs which bring him in from 100 to 150 per 
cent., and which enable him to disregard the loss of a few 
hundred piastres in the village whilst he is making some 
hundreds of pounds in the town. 

When the sheaves of wheat are counted, the tax-farmer has 
his corn carted to the village, and placed in a spot reserved 
for it, before the peasants are allowed to carry their own 
grain : they are also forced to thrash and clean it, and finally 
to transport it to the nearest town, for which last service 
they are entitled to a certain payment per cartload. From 
Derekuoi to Yarna, a distance of four hours by cart, they are 
paid two piastres, but unless compelled they would not do it 
under fifteen. Even this reduced price is not paid in money 
by the tax-farmer, who merely gives the peasant saman — 
chopped straw — for the amount due to him. 

We have seen that this tax costs the country three times 
the amount it brings in to the Treasury, and occasions great 
loss to the taxpayers. But even these are minor evils when 
compared with the economical falsity of its principle, since it 
has the effect of rendering all agricultural enterprise almost 
impossible: in fact, can there be a worse-devised tax than 
one which affects produce and labour, instead of consump- 
tion ? 

In spite of the generally light taxation of Turkey, the 
tithe has the effect of discouraging intelligent labour, and 
driving the peasant to his present ruinous system of agri- 
culture. It cannot be otherwise so long as an enterprising 
man who, by a new method of cultivation, has succeeded in 



Chap. XII. 



PLEAS AGAINST REFORM. 



181 



doubling or tripling the produce of the soil, shall have to 
pay the tithe in proportion, and thus submit to a not incon- 
siderable deduction from the profit he had hoped to clear. 
As it is his talent and industry which have increased his 
produce, it is these qualities and not the land which are 
taxed by Government. Can any system be more injurious to 
agriculturists, or tend more to discourage labour and offer a 
premium to idleness ? 

The peasant who cultivates his land with intelligence and 
industry is heavily taxed, whilst he who leaves hundreds or 
even thousands of acres uncleared, pays nothing at all for 
them. It is to the Dime that Turkey owes the system of 
Mira (right of pasturage) of which we shall speak in the 
next chapter, and which is one of the numerous causes of her 
financial ruin. 

Some time ago even Turkey appeared to realize the fact 
that if the Dime was not a means of destroying her pros- 
perity, it was at any rate a very unprofitable tax to the 
Government. The political economists of Constantinople 
cudgelled their brains to solve the great problem of convert- 
ing the tithe paid in kind into a fixed tax payable in money, 
and after much thought excogitated the following scheme : to 
calculate the sums paid to the tax-farmers during a period of 
five years, to strike an average from this amount, and exact 
the payment of such an annual sum from the provinces, 
villages, &c. 

This experiment failed, for the peasant (who is not gifted 
with too much intelligence) preferred to pay in kind ; and 
all those who were interested in the lucrative speculation of 
tax-farming agitated so successfully, that the authorities were 
obliged to return to the good old system. 



182 



THE TAXES OF TCRKEY. 



Chap. XIT. 



The arguments employed in favour of the present farming 
of the tithes by its defenders — amongst whom are ranged all 
the Government employes, a fact which induces us to fancy 
that in spite of the new restrictions this class still manages 
to profit by the tax — are as follows : — 

1st. That as the country possesses no roads, it is conse- 
quently impossible for the peasant to sell his produce and pay 
the Dime in money. 

2nd. That the collection of the tax would cost more to 
Government than the loss occasioned by the sale to the 
farmers. 

3rd. There having been no survey of the lands (cadastre), 
it would be impossible to tax the land instead of its 
produce. 

4th. That to abolish this system would be to the disad- 
vantage of commerce, and of those who live by farming the 
Dime. 

fSuch pleas hardly require refutation. As to the cost of 
collection, it could surely never equal two-thirds of the 
revenue ; a statistical record of lands granted and held does 
exist in the Tapou or Official Eegister, and if every com- 
mune were forced to mark out the limits of their lands, forest 
and pasturage included, a very approximative idea would be 
arrived at of the superficies of its possessions, and the tax 
could be easily and justly levied. 

There are few new schemes or projects in which there are 
no difficulties to be encountered, but a little difficulty ought 
not to stop a Government when the welfare of its finances is 
at stake, and when the country has to be rescued from misery 
and placed in the path of prosperity and progress. 

It seems to us that to change the Dime into a fixed tax. 



Chap. XII. 



A LAND-TAX SUGGESTED. 



183 



keeping in view the great object of encouraging industry and 
rendering idleness and parasitism ruinous if not impossible, is 
in itself sufficiently easy. To effect this it is only necessary 
to tax the land in place of its produce, an alteration by which 
the prohibitive tax which now oppresses labour will fall upon 
the idler instead. 

The simplest plan would be to levy a fixed sum, say of five 
piastres, upon every dulum of land, whether cleared, arable 
pasturage, or forest, belonging to or in any way used by the 
commune to be taxed. 

Taking an example in this neighbourhood, we find that the 
municipality of Varna possesses de facto, on the south side of 
the lake alone, a tract of land whose superficies is twenty-three 
square miles, or 37,500 dulums, for which it pays something 
less than 100/. per annum as Beylik for the sheep, cattle, &c, 
which pasture in the forest. Supposing this land to be taxed 
at five piastres per dulum — that is, from one-quarter to one- 
sixth of the sum raised by the Dime from land sown in 
grain* — the town of Varna would have to pay a sum of 
187,500 piastres, or 1875 Turkish lire, eighteen times more 
than at present. The natural consequence would be that the 
municipality would farm out this tract, cultivate it for itself, 
or give it up altogether, in which latter case it would revert 
to Government, and plenty of persons would be willing to 
take it even at ten piastres per clulum. 

This tax might be received in kind from districts where 
there are no roads, and where specie is consequently rare, 

* Five dulums require one Varna kile of grain as seed, and produce at 
least 12 to 15 kiles of corn, of which the tenth will be from 1*2 to 1*5 
Idle ; valuing the kile at an average of 100 piastres, the five dulums pay 
from 120 to 150 p., and each dulum 24 to 30 p. 



184 



THE TAXES OF TURKEY. 



Chap. XII. 



always holding to the system of taxing the acreage possessed, 
without reference to the amount of produce raised. 

Such a change would have the effect of forcing the 
peasant to cultivate his land properly, whilst the idler would 
soon be ruined or compelled to hire himself out as a day 
labourer, and the poor sheep or cattle would no longer, during 
a severe winter, wander half dead in the forest, for their 
owners would either feed them at home or sell them. The 
corn, too, would be thrashed by flails instead of being 
trodden out by miserable horses kept for that sole purpose. 

We have thus dilated upon the Dime because it is the 
most ruinous tax both to Government and people, and in 
comparison with it such others as three piastres for every full- 
grown pig, four piastres for every ewe which has lambed, 
and three piastres for every hive of bees, are entirely inoffen- 
sive and innocuous. 

The tax upon market gardens of one Turkish lire (100 
piastres) per labourer is not a very reasonable one, but is not 
of sufficient importance to discuss. 

Yineyards pay a tax, similar to that which we advocate in 
place of the Dime, of ten piastres for every dulum, and the 
vines are comparatively well cultivated, not an inch of ground 
being wasted, as the peasant knows that in this case he has 
to pay for the ground occupied, and not according to its pro- 
duce. There is also an octroi duty of four paras per oke 
upon wine, and twelve piastres per oke upon tobacco. 

The customs dues are eight per cent, ad valorem on exports 
and on imports, a tax which, however foolishly imposed, does 
not do much harm to the country ; as, though it may dis- 
please the merchants, it hardly touches the people, the dues 
received by the Government being as nothing when com- 



Chap. XII. 



THE CORVEE. 



185 



pared with the enormous percentage levied by Eastern 
commerce. 

Besides the regular taxes which we have enumerated, 
there is another species of impost, irregular and arbitrary, 
which being in itself an authorized abuse, produces other 
abuses in the course of its execution, and much well-founded 
discontent among the peasantry. We allude to the tax of 
Corvee, or forced labour and extraordinary contributions. 
The Corvee, has always been a bad system, for a man just 
taken off his own labour is sure to work badly, and this 
forced labour in Turkey is sometimes a very heavy burden. 
By its aid the one or two roads which exist are kept in a 
state of dilapidated repair, the baggage of troops is tran- 
sported, wood for gun-carriages is cut, &c, &c. The only 
merit which the Corvee can claim is that of impartiality, for 
it presses upon the Mussulman as heavily as upon the 
Eayah. 

Extraordinary contributions are levied by the Pashas and 
Mudirs, often without the knowledge and nearly always with- 
out the consent of the Supreme Government at Constantinople ; 
for it is not to be expected that a Pasha should inform the 
Sublime Porte that he has exacted from every house a 
bushel of corn to feed his horses, or that he has given per- 
mission to his friend the tax-farmer to have eleven sheaves 
instead of ten from each hundred because the harvest is 
bad. 

Both corvees and extraordinary contributions are abuses, 
and the sooner an abuse is extirpated the better for the 
country. 



186 



TENURE OF LANDED PROPERTY. 



Chap. XIII. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE TENURE OF LANDED PROPERTY; THE TAPOU, THE MIR A, 
THE RIGHT OF FOREIGNERS TO POSSESS LAND. 

Registration of occupancy — Sometimes abused to the fraudulent acquisi- 
tion of title — Undeserved liberality of the Government — Right of 
pasturage — Leads to loss of production, illegal destruction of timber, 
and winter starvation of cattle — Probable results of a European immi- 
gration — Let the settlers bring their own merchants. 

It would be taking up too much of our time and space 
to enumerate all the petty abuses, small anomalies, and 
insignificant faults of legislation to be found in Turkey, 
such as the law of mortmain relating to the Yakoufs, which 
has been magnified into a grievance because it affects in 
some measure the inhabitants of Pera, the householders of 
the Sixth Circle * willingly forgetting that all property they 
possess is held only by an evasion of the law of the land, 
and wishing for nothing more than that this property may 
be as far beyond the reach of Justice as are their persons, 
thanks to the Capitulations. 

We have enough to do in pointing out those graver funda- 
mental blunders and errors which exercise a decisive influence • 
upon the progress of Turkey, without losing time in the 
discussion of minor local questions affecting only a small 
clique of petty foreign traders, who, after eluding the law, 
have contrived to suggest an impression in Europe that 
they are the advanced guards of civilization in the East, and 
that consequently the Reforms of Turkey must be modelled 

* Pera is the Sixth Municipal Circle of Constantinople. 



Chap. XIII. REGISTRATION OF OCCUPANCY. 



187 



for their especial benefit and in the manner which it pleases 
them to dictate. 

Setting aside this and similar questions, we turn to the 
two great principles which affect landed property in Turkey. 
1st. Its tenure by Tapou, and the dependent corollary, the 
system of Mira, or pasturage ; 2nd. The permission accorded 
to foreigners to possess land in this country. 

All writers upon the Eeforms necessary to the growth of 
civilization in Turkey fall into the serious error of measuring 
things by an European standard. In this country there exist 
two widely differing elements: the Mussulmans, who are 
susceptible of a civilization adapted to their nationality, 
and in accordance with the precepts of the Koran, a civiliza- 
tion other than that of England, but which amongst them 
might not only be easily introduced, but would take root 
and flourish; and the Christians, who are degraded not by 
Turkish rule, but by their own vices and those of their 
priesthood, as well as by those traditions of the Lower 
Empire which form the basis of their morals, institutions, 
and religious prejudices : this latter race is as yet unpre- 
pared for any well-grounded civilization, being, like all the 
peoples who profess the Greek rite, capable of receiving only 
a thin surface polish, under which the barbarian of the East 
still remains visible. 

The laws which regulate the tenure of land by Tapou,* 
at least for the Yilayet of the Danube, or Bulgaria proper, 
are as follows :— 

Any subject of the Sultan may occupy any Government 
land uncultivated at the time, may build a house and 



* The Tapou is a species of certificate of registration of land, which 
guarantees the tenure. 



188 



TENURE OF LANDED PROPERTY. 



Chap. XIII. 



cultivate as lie chooses, on condition of paying the tithe 
and other taxes established by law ; for this land he must 
take out a Tapou, that is, register his land with the proper 
authorities, a proceeding which costs from 60 to 100 paras 
per dulum, or from 9d. to Is. 3d. per acre. From this land 
he cannot be turned out on any pretext whatsoever, and 
having paid the tithe during twenty years he becomes its 
legal proprietor. 

An instant's reflection will show the absurdity, in all ways, 
of this law, of which the inevitable corollary, the system of 
Mira, acquires by custom the force of law, and is in itself 
sufficient to ruin the country and to exclude all progress and 
civilization more thoroughly than the wildest schemes of the 
most rabid Communist. 

In fact, this law of property annihilates all property. 

According to its rules, a man occupies land for the 
possession of which he pays, once for all, from 9d. to Is. 3d. 
per acre, but only becomes its actual proprietor after having 
paid the tithe during twenty years — and when the land is 
actually his own, what further advantage does he derive 
from the fact ? He has still to pay the tithe, and the only 
difference in his position is that he has the right of sale; 
but who in Bulgaria waits the twenty years if he wishes to 
sell his land ? or who will buy it if the owner is forced to leave 
that part of the country? As soon as he is gone the land 
is taken possession of by some one else, or at any rate 
Turkey is large enough, and contains land enough to satisfy 
any man who is not over particular about his title deeds. 

Moustapha Agha dies, his four sons have been killed in 
battle, his nephew is a soldier at Bagdad, whence he will 
not return for eight years ; the lands of the dead man ought 



Chap. XIII. ABUSES OF REGISTRATION. 



189 



by law to become Vakoufs until his nephew, Ali Agha, 
returns to claim his inheritance. In the mean time Anastaz 
and Dimitri seize upon the estate, cultivate it and pay the 
tithe, and when Ali Agha comes back he finds that he cannot 
regain his property, for the two Eayahs pay the taxes and 
shelter themselves from all legal pursuit in the shadow of 
the Consul of the North. 

In twenty years Anastaz and Dimitri would become legal 
proprietors of the estate of Moustapha Agha (for which they 
have had no difficulty in obtaining a Tapou on their simple 
statement that the land was not occupied), but they do not 
choose to wait for this period ; and they sell their respective 
Tapous to Kako Effendi, a Greek Eayah who has every 
inducement to become a landed proprietor, as he is exempted 
from all taxes by his position as Member of the Medjliss of 
the neighbouring town of Bulgaropolis, of which he is also 
Mayor, a dignity which gives him the command of the 
market for vegetables, &c. 

What chance has Ali Agha against such an opponent ? 

By comparing the rights of Ali Agha with those of Anastaz 
and Dimitri, who have ceded their title by sale to Kako Effendi, 
the absurdity of the law of Tapou becomes plainly manifest. 

The estate of Djenkdere was conceded to Moustapha Agha's 
ancestors by the Sultan Amurath II. for services rendered 
to the State, at the same time as certain rights of Beylik,* 
&c, over the neighbouring village of Giaour-dere, of which 
Anastaz and Dimitri are natives, which latter privileges were 
taken away by the changes of Mahmoud II. Although 
Djenkdere at that time was rendered liable to the taxes 



* The origin of the Eeylik is explained in the preceding Chapter. 



190 TENURE OF LANDED PROPERTY. Chap. XIII. 

formerly paid by the E ayahs alone, it was still Tallied by 
the family as a souvenir of the munificence of Anmrath 
and the valour of their ancestors. Now the estate exists 
no longer, and Ali Agha, who has gained his rank of 
lieutenant by his own courage, and not by the favour of a 
Pasha, starves upon his meagre pension, whilst Kako EfTendi 
cultivated the lands of the Turkish Timors of Djenkdere, 
pays no taxes, uses or rather abuses his position in the 
Medjliss to corrupt the Government employes, and laughs 
at the incontestable rights of Ali Agha, the descendant of 
the Osmanli lords of the soil. 

The village in which we live has a somewhat similar 
history, but here murder was added to robbery, and ex- 
tinguished the claims of the Turkish owners. 

If our readers recollect the sketch given in another 
chapter of the origin of landed property (rightfully held), 
and of the taxes, they can hardly help seeing the great 
hardship and injustice with which the present law affects 
the Turk,* rendering all legal tenure ruinous to the holders, 
and consequently destroying all hope of civilization, of 
which justice is the very foundation. By the existing 
laws a legal proprietor whose estate has descended to him 
through many generations, or who has acquired it by a 
bona fide purchase, is placed on precisely the same footing 
with the squatter upon Government lands, and even with 
the man who has stolen the estate of another. This is in 



* The Rayahs were dispossessed of their property by conquest, which is 
in itself a right, and consequently the only legitimate proprietors in Turkey 
are the Turks, to whom estates were granted by the Sultans ; the existing 
laws permitting the Rayah to possess land do so to the prejudice of all 
justice, and consequently they do not alter the question. 



Chap. XIII. 



UNDESERVED LIBERALITY. 



191 



itself an absurd anomaly, but is only one in a long series 
of mistakes; let us examine the effects of this law upon 
the financial and economical state of the country. 

The first result obtained by the promulgation of this 
law is that Government lands are worth nothing, for it 
cannot be considered that the price paid for the Tapou 
is an equivalent to their value, or is anything more than 
a fee paid for registration. 

The political economists of the East will answer that this 
law was passed with the object of promoting the clearing 
of forest land, as an inducement to cultivation, and for the 
development of agriculture ; the weakness of this argument 
will be shown immediately in an economical point of view : 
as for the financial absurdity, Turkey surely has not the 
right to waste her most valuable resources in order to 
bestow a doubtful boon upon an ungrateful race, or to act 
like a madman who throws his gold into the river. Indeed, 
it is little less than a financial suicide to tolerate such a 
law, and, since the Sublime Porte has insured its life with 
those European capitalists who have subscribed to the 
Turkish loans, it is high time that the insurance office 
composed by the creditors of Turkey should issue a Com- 
mission de limatico inquirendo, and demand that the physi- 
cians, or rather the quacks, who are poisoning the patient 
should be dismissed, and replaced by doctors who have a 
direct interest in the preservation of his life and his restora- 
tion to reason. Such physicians can only be found amongst 
the Turks of the country,* but unfortunately they are a class 



* For the Turk of the country as distinguished from the Turk of the 
town, see Chap. xvi. 



192 



TENURE OF LANDED PROPERTY. 



Chap. XIII. 



whose opinion will never be consulted, and not one amongst 
them would be found either sufficiently imbecile or suffi- 
ciently corrupt to aspire to rank amongst the present Re- 
formers or political economists of this country, which, after 
all, owes its continued existence, precarious as it is, to the 
courage and loyalty of these same village Turks, as well as 
to the dread which they inspire in the Rayah. 

Whatever may be said, the fact is that the Ottoman 
Government grants its lands gratis to any one who chooses 
to take them; gratis, because if the tithe be considered 
as rent, it should not be exacted from those who are the 
rightful proprietors of their estates by such titles as are 
recognized everywhere ; but since the tithe does fall upon 
such proprietors, it, as well as the Beylik, &c, is in reality 
a genuine tax and not rent, and as the Government receives 
from those who take its land no other payment, these lands 
are in reality granted gratis. 

In a country only six days' journey from London, with 
the finest soil and climate possible, land is to be had 
at the maximum price of Is. 3d. per acre, less than is 
paid in the wilds of Australia or at the foot of the Rocky 
Mountains ; surely thousands of colonists flock to this new 
Eldorado ? Not so, for there is an obstacle ; the Rayah 
who wastes the land can have as much of it as he chooses, 
but there is not an inch for enterprising and intelligent 
foreigners, and this in a country of whose total superficies 
a tenth, or, more correctly speaking, a sixteenth only is 
cultivated, and that imperfectly, every year, although two- 
thirds of the whole is susceptible of utilization. This fact 
is the result of the Government's bestowing lands for nothing 
upon a people who do not deserve the gift ; of these laws 



Chap. XIII. 



RIGHT OF PASTURAGE. 



193 



of property which we have already described, and of an 
abuse which springs from them, the system of Mira, to which 
we now pass. 

We have already mentioned, in the preceding chapter, 
that the municipality of Varna possesses on the south side 
of the lakes of Devna * (without counting its possessions to 
the north), an extent of land amounting to twenty-three 
square miles, and that for this immense tract it pays only 
about 100?. a year to Government, whilst of the whole surface 
only about thirty acres are cultivated (chiefly as vineyards), 
the rest serving as pasturage for miserable sheep, cattle, and 
half-wild horses. 

Seeing the wretched state of the land and the animals 
you would feel tempted to exclaim, " Is it possible that this 
good soil should be left thus uncultivated, and that these 
poor beasts should be left to die a lingering death of inani- 
tion ! " But you would be still more astonished to be told 
that the land is left so for this express purpose, that the 
cattle may pass their lives in a state of perpetual starva- 
tion : yet this is actually the case. 

This species of agricultural economy is to be met with 
only in Turkey, where it flourishes over the whole empire. 

These twenty-three miles, voluntarily left desert, form part 
of the Mira of Varna, being land which that town claims a 
right to as pasturage; by what right they belong to the 
town it would be hard to say, we do not believe that they 
were purchased, and yet Varna has an incontestable right to 
all this territory, and chooses it as a place of torture for its 

* Thus named in the maps, but the real Lake of Devna is separated 
from that which washes the walls of Varna, from which town it is more 
than 15 miles distant. 



0 



191 



TENURE OF LANDED PROPERTY. 



Chap. XIII. 



cattle. Anybody who attempted to take any of this land, 
and bring it under cultivation, would soon learn who are its 
owners. 

The Mira is then a right of pasturage, and on the other 
hand a right of property, claimed by every municipality, 
commune, or even owner of a chiftlik (or farm) in Turkey, 
without giving themselves even the trouble of taking out a 
Tapou for its registration, and without paying to Govern- 
ment the tithe of the produce which should nominally render 
them proprietors of it in twenty years. 

The theory enunciated by the political economists of Con- 
stantinople about the encouragement of agriculture does not 
appear in a very favourable light when viewed in connection 
with the enormous non- value of the Miras of the whole of the 
empire : the extent of land thus rendered unproductive in 
European Turkey being at least nine-tenths of its super- 
ficies. 

But it is argued that pasturage for cattle is absolutely 
necessary, that the forests must be preserved, since for this 
latter purpose a " Corps Forestier " has been instituted at 
Constantinople — (by-the-bye, these gentlemen never leave 
the capital, and for all the good they do there or anywhere 
else, might just as well be employed in planting fir-trees on 
the roof of the Grand Vizier's palace, or cedars on the Tower 
of Galata) — which will cost the Government a heavy sum, 
whilst the forests are none the less left to be burnt down for 
the benefit of the Bulgarian, or bought up for the benefit of 
some Greek speculator. One man of common sense would 
be worth the whole of the scientific instruction of all the 
Turkish re-organizers put together. 

If there were a financier, an economist, or even a Pasha, 



Chap. XIIT. 



WASTE RESULTING. 



195 



who not only pretended to see beyond the lighted end of his 
cigarette, but really was capable of doing so, he would never rest 
if he felt the least love for his country, so long as the absurd 
system of Mira existed. This system, or rather the right 
based upon the abuse of it, is ruining Turkey, for to this it 
is owing that, even with the faulty method of taxation in 
force, the Dime does not amount to five times the sum it 
reaches at present ; since the country produces five or six 
times less than it ought to do, did not the Mira leave nine- 
tenths of the forest land uncleared, and were the actual state 
of agriculture in Turkey improved * 

Not only, as we have said, do all municipalities, com- 
munes, and owners of farms monopolize large tracts of land 
over which they pretend to have the right of pasturage ; 
not only do they think and say that they are the lawful 
owners of this ground ; but they also arrogate to themselves 
the right of cutting down for their own use or for sale as 
much timber as they choose,! set fire to the forest trees for 
the benefit of the grass, and exercise other and equally 
intelligent seigneurial rights. 

This is doubtless a terrible waste of resources, but the 
true economical evil lies in the fact which we have pointed 
out — that nine-tenths of European Turkey bring nothing to 
the Government, and cannot be disposed of to foreign 



* We have calculated, in the Chapter treating of the Taxes, that the 
revenue of Government suffers a diminution of two-thirds ; and it therefore 
follows from the above statement, that if the Mira were abolished and 
the produce of the Dime paid intact into the Treasury, this revenue would 
amount to at least fifteen times as much as it does now. 

t The village of Derekuoi has destroyed within the last three years 
timber belonging to Government of the value of about 2O,00OZ. 

o 2 



196 



TENURE OF LANDED PROPERTY. 



Chap. XIII 



colonists, because this portion is Mira, and the owners 
would sooner sell their wives than an acre of it. 

To explain this love for land which is of little real value 
to its proprietors, we must take into consideration the 
character of the Bulgarian peasant, who fancies that by 
keeping his Mira he is cheating the revenue, and who 
argues with himself much in the following manner : " I have 
300 duluins of arable land on which I sow every year sixty 
kiles of grain and pay the Dime ; Aman ! * how heavy that 
Dime is ! To be sure I only pay for a .third of my land, 
because I leave the rest fallow or grow produce which 
isn't taxable, but still it 's very hard, and I don't see why I 
should pay any tax at all. However, as I am obliged to pay, 
I must make it up somehow, so I take 2000 dulums of 
forest belonging to Government, and I have a right to this 
Mira because my buffaloes strayed all over it once last 
winter ; for this I only pay a Beylik of 400 piastres for the 
100 ewes I own to — (I should like to find a Beylikji who could 
make out how many I really have ; I don't know to within 
fifty !) — and thirty piastres for ten sows, which make 430 
piastres altogether; but then I cut down, one year with 
another, 3000 piastres' worth of wood to sell at the town, and 
my horses and buffaloes feed in the forest — though it is true 
that the horses are more good to the wolves than they are 
to me ; so I manage to do the Government in return for the 
Dime it makes me pay, besides preventing it selling or 
letting a single dulum of my Mira." 

The Turkish peasant values his Mira, because, owing to the 
amount of time taken from him by his military service, he 



* A Turkish expression of grief or dismay ; literally, Pity ! 



Chap. XIII. STARVATION OF CATTLE. 197 

is forced to devote his attention to cattle-farming as well as 
agriculture ; the Kay ah, without the same compulsion, is very 
fond of keeping cattle, and adores the profession of choban 
(herdsman), because his dogs can look after his charge, and he 
has nothing to do but to saunter about and improve his 
knowledge of the bagpipes. This idle occupation is disliked 
by the Turks, and the chobans of a Mussulman village are 
nearly always Bulgarians or gipsies. 

If the system of Mira had the effect of making Turkey a 
great centre for. the production of cattle , wool, &c, &c, 
this feeble excuse might be urged as a palliation of the 
economical error of employing arable land as pasturage 
— the Dobrudscha, for instance, might plead thus ; the 
Mira, however, has not this result, for instead of producing 
fat cattle it turns out only living skeletons. 

The Bulgarians have large herds of cattle, but they never 
take the pains to mow a single acre of grass to feed them 
with during the winter, and carrots, turnips, or clover, are 
as much unknown to them as oilcake and Thorley's food ; 
the poor brutes are left during the winter to chance, 
hunger, and the wolves,* those who survive the care of their 
triad of guardians finding a little nourishment in the 
young spring grass ; but hardly do they begin to lose 
their hibernal translucence, when the grass is burned by 
the peasants, and the second bovine Lent commences, 
and it is only after harvest that they pick up sufficient food 



* The wolves, which are increasing in number every year in our part of 
the country, do a good deal of damage (to-day we heard of seven horses 
and oxen killed within the last two nights), but not so much as might be 
expected ; possibly they are gourmets, and prefer a fat deer to a skinny 
cow or sheep. 



198 



TENURE OF LANDED PROPERTY. 



Chap. XIII. 



in the stubble of the cornfields and the abundant wild 
fruits of the forest to enable them to support their winter 
torments, and to prevent them being carried away bodily 
by the first breath of the North wind. From this system 
arises the present degeneracy of the cattle of this country; 
the horses not having a single good point about them, and 
the horned beasts being mere frameworks of skin and bone, 
about the size of a very small Shetland pony. 

If you give a property to an idiot, it does not make him 
a proprietor in the true sense of the word, and a child will 
throw a bank note out of the window; so it is with the 
Bulgarian. To create real proprietors in this country it is 
necessary to create real property, and to allow labour capitalized 
to represent a title to the land ; there is no use or object in 
working to obtain possession of the soil, when an equally 
legal possession and title may be secured without the trouble 
of work. So long as legal and illegal possession are on the 
same footing, and capitalized labour, which is property, value- 
less and a dead letter, it is impossible to hope that labour 
will be held in esteem, or to dream of progress. 

There is one mode of escape from these evils, by applying 
a remedy which we have mentioned in the preceding chapter. 
Do not tax the producer, but the consumer of the raw 
material, for the producer represents labour and agricultural 
enterprise; in short the producer is Turkey, and the con- 
sumer Europe, and it is unjust to tax the former whilst 
exempting the latter. Tax the soil, but not labour, and 
the bad farmer will give up what he does not want of his 
land to the good farmer, who will never have too much. 
This is what another system of taxation might effect ; but in 
order to do justice and to render such property as is the 



Chap. XIII. PROBABLE RESULTS OF IMMIGRATION. 199 



result of labour no longer valueless but valuable, distinguish 
between the legal and illegal proprietor; let him who has 
no better title deed than a Tapou pay five piastres extra 
rent per dulum in addition to the five he will pay as ]and 
tax, grant a right of Mira to the old soldier who has 
faithfully served his country, but scrutinize the title of 
him who keeps his pasturage merely to keep himself in 
idleness, and let him pay rent for such land, or buy it at a 
price fixed according to the locality. If such laws were 
in force, it is probable that the greater part of the seven- 
tenths of the country now uncleared would be again in the 
hands of Government, who might let them, not sell them, to 
foreign speculators. 

But to this last scheme there is a drawback ; for to grant 
lands, if only for ten years, to foreigners enjoying all the 
privileges guaranteed them by the Capitulations, would be 
(in spite of that clause of the new law permitting aliens to 
possess land in Turkey, which decrees that landowners of 
foreign nationality shall be subject as regards their landed 
property to such laws as. in Turkey regulate the possession 
of land), to give up the country entirely to foreign influence, 
to denationalize the Turk even more than is done at present, 
and to give a still wider range to foreign intrigue. 

Even here there is an amendment possible, in spite of our 
own conviction that the possession of land in Turkey by 
foreigners is an absurdity so long as the Capitulations are not 
abolished, or at least radically modified. 

Turkey is here on the horns of a dilemma; for whilst on 
the one hand it would be financially advantageous to the 
Government, as well as economically and materially to 
the country, to let the unoccupied lands to foreign enter- 



2-j'J TEXURE OF LANDED PROPERTY. Chap, XIII. 



prise, on the other it would be an ever germinating seed 
of troubles and petty warfare, and a certain method of still 
further weakening the prestige of the Government. 

Between this good and this evil it is difficult to choose, 
but we will examine the question of the right of possession 
granted to foreigners, and endeavour to solve this difficult 
problem as well as we can. 

If foreigners are permitted to buy land, it is certain that 
in a short time their intelligent labour, backed as it will be 
by capital will enable them to extend their properties, and 
little by little to become owners of the greater part of the 
soil of Turkey by legal dispossession of the Rayahs. The 
Turks, at least the peasants (though the rich Bey with his 
European semi-civilization may not care much for his patri- 
mony except as a source of income), are deeply attached to 
the land which has been paid for by the blood of their 
fathers ; they are hard working and sober, and the only race 
in Turkey who are really fond of agriculture :* these qualities 
may enable them to make head for a time against the 
foreign colonists ; but the Rayah, with his habit of idling 183 
days in the year, his love of drink, and his contempt for all 
modem improvements, t "will soon become poor in spite of 
the fact that his land is double that of his new neighbours ; 
and when he is offered for his property a sum greater than 
its real value to him. he will be only too glad to sell- it, and 



* The Rayah, especially when of Greek race, cultivates land only for 
Avant of a more congenial employment, the towns and his own system of 
commerce possessing an irresistible attraction for Mm. 

f Many well-to-do Turks in this neighbourhood are introducing Euro- 
pean improvements in their farms, such as machinery, &c. &c. ; of the 
Rayahs not one has done so. 



Chap. XIII. PROBABLE RESULTS OF IMMIGRATION. 201 



settle in some town ; there, his smaller means being placed 
in competition with larger capitals, he will soon be ruined 
and driven back upon the country ; but a new order of things 
will be established, and he will find no more land to be had 
for- nothing, and no more gratis timber to be cut for fire- 
wood; and as the new immigration will necessitate a new 
and effective system of police, the laws will no longer be 
violated with impunity — the Rayah's last resource, that of 
turning thief or highwayman, will be closed to him — and his 
only choice will be between mendicancy and becoming a day- 
labourer. 

Such an expropriation of the Rayah by the consequences 
of his own vices, is the natural and inevitable result of the 
settlement of foreign farmers in Turkey. 

The Turk, as we have said, may hold out longer, but he 
will have the disadvantage of being obliged to copy the 
improvements introduced by the settlers, without having 
the capital necessary to make them profitable to him, 
whilst the heavy burden of military service falls upon 
him alone, leaving his antagonist untouched. The struggle 
will be a hard one, and the Mussulman will be forced to 
employ all the resources of his character — all the energy, 
patience, sobriety, and courage with which he is gifted — to 
avoid the fate which has overtaken the Rayah. 

Under these circumstances the position of the Govern- 
ment becomes very difficult, as it will be placed between 
the Turkish people and a rich and consequently influential 
class of landed proprietors, whose territorial possessions are 
indeed subject to Ottoman laws, but whose other property, 
as well as their persons, can be affected only by foreign 
jurisdiction ; whilst the Rayah element is becoming gradually 



202 



TENURE OF LANDED PROPERTY. 



Chap. XIII. 



extinct, like the savages of North America, by the influence 
of its own idleness and passions. 

To help the Turks, the Government must protect them 
in such a manner as will rise to an apparent injustice, and 
cause loud complaints on the part of the colonists, whilst 
the Bay ah pauperism will be a continual source of embarrass- 
ment. 

The substitution of a hard-working class, in place of the 
parasitic and hostile Eayah, will be an undoubted gain econo- 
mically, but its political effect is not so easily defined. 

In our opinion, the way to obviate these difficulties would 
be to give the colonists an interest in their adopted country 
by permitting them to participate in the local and even the 
general government under certain conditions, which should 
be as follows : that all foreign settlers in Turkey should be 
subject to all the laws and burdens imposed upon the subjects 
of the Sultan, as well in their persons as in their property, 
so that, for instance, they should be liable to military service, 
or to pay an exemption tax proportioned to their means ; 
when the colonists left Turkey, they would take their pass- 
port from their Consul, and enjoy all the privileges conferred 
by their original nationality. Such colonists as did not 
choose to agree to these terms should be allowed no share 
in the Government, and should be treated as foreigners, that 
is, as entitled to none of the rights of a Turkish subject. 

This amendment would urge the settlers to inscribe them- 
selves under the laws of the country by the inducement 
of the brilliant careers which would be opened to them, in 
entering upon which they would find themselves in precisely 
the same position as those foreigners at present in the service 
of the Sultan. 



Chap. XIII. 



ADVICE TO SETTLERS. 



203 



If it is asked, What would attract European farmers to 
Turkey under such, conditions ? we answer by a question : 
Where in Europe can you find such land to be let at Is. 3d. 
per acre, the total taxes only amounting to 2s. 6d. more, 
and arable fields to be bought at 42s. per acre — recollecting 
that this soil will produce, without manure, two or three times 
more than the soil of Europe with it ? 

W T e believe that the Turkish Government would do well 
to grant uncleared land to foreign companies for a term not 
exceeding fifty years, at a rent of 8 or 10 piastres per duluni 
per annum (4s. to 5s. per acre}, and no doubt many com- 
panies would be glad to avail themselves of such an offer. 

As sincere friends of Turkey, we should be glad to see 
foreign companies established in the country under such 
conditions ; and we should prefer this speculation to be under- 
taken by companies rather than by individual colonization, 
because in the first place the former would offer better 
guarantees of solvability, and, secondly, because they would 
be forced to defend their property by making war upon 
Eastern commerce. For the benefit of these possible associa- 
tions, we suggest a plan which would render success in this 
war certain; the companies who farm the soil of Turkey 
should establish large commercial houses in the towns of 
the coast, for the purpose of buying up the cereal and other 
produce of the country at (even) 25 per cent, profit, and 
importing the manufactures of Europe to sell at the same 
rate: such an enterprise would, besides realizing enormous 
profits, benefit Turkey by rendering Eastern commerce im- 
possible to its present followers. There is one necessary 
principle to be observed, and never to be deviated from, 
namely, that no Greek and no Armenian or other Eayah 



204: TENURE OF LANDED PROPERTY. Chap. XIII. 



be admitted into these houses in any capacity whatsoever — 
even that of Hainal (porter) — or they will have the same 
fate which has hitherto attended every enterprise of the 
kind which has been attempted in the East. 

In conclnsion we venture to express a hope that what we 
have written on this subject, though it would probably possess 
no interest for the present officials of Turkey, may at least 
afford matter for reflection to our readers in England. 



Chap. XIV. WRITERS IN THE PAY OF RUSSIA. 205 
CHAPTER XIV. 

WHAT THE BULGARIANS WISH FOR, AND WHAT THEY DO 
NOT WISH FOR. 

Writers in the pay of Russia — Too much experience of Russian promises 
— The Bulgarian does not wish what he is supposed to wish — Un- 
ambitious minds — Exceptions. 

It is very difficult to say what changes in their political or 
social government are really desired by the mass of the 
Rayahs, of whom most are too apathetic and ignorant to 
imagine for themselves any remedy against the oppression 
from which the emissaries of a party endeavour to make 
them think they suffer. In Turkey, as elsewhere, the 
loudest talkers attract the greatest attention, and to judge 
by articles written in some of the journals of Constantinople 
and Athens, the dearest wish of the Bulgarians is to be 
united to Russia. These articles are, however, even when 
written by genuine Bulgarians, only the exponents of the 
feelings of a very small party, who imagine that in the event 
of this union taking place, their services will be gratefully 
remembered and rewarded by their new masters. But as 
the number of Bulgarians in Turkey who are capable of ex- 
pressing their wishes in writing is excessively limited, those 
pathetic letters bearing the signature of ' Un Bulgare ' or 
' BovXyapos,' are usually composed by some of the innumer- 
able foreign agents who earn their roubles or their drachmas 
by unceasing attempts to sow the seeds of discord and 



206 



WISHES OF THE BULGARIANS. Chap. XIY. 



separation between the Government of the Porte and its 
Christian subjects ; and yet these epistles, if read in France 
and England, are probably considered as the wail of an 
" oppressed nationality " groaning under the fetters of their 
Ottoman tyrants. 

Although Russian agents may have succeeded formerly, 
when the Rayahs had some fair grounds of complaints 
against their rulers, in persuading them that the mild 
government of the Czar was preferable to the cruelties of 
the Padischah, this species of propaganda has now become 
almost hopeless since the Bulgarians hare learnt wisdom 
by their sad experience. Russia committed the folly of 
inviting emigrants from these provinces to settle in her 
territories, with fair promises of many special advantages 
to the new settlers; the Porte was wise enough to profit 
by this false move of its adversary, and placed no obstacles 
in the way of the intending emigrants. In some instances 
whole villages left their native land for the promised 
Canaan, whilst in others one or two families only went out 
to spy the land: their immovable property was converted 
into money, much to the advantage of the purchasers, who 
of course profited as much as possible by the enforced sale. 
And with this small stock of cash they landed in Russia 
with the expectation of making rapid fortunes. A few 
years elapsed, and those of the exiles who were able to 
escape from the paternal care of the Muscovite returned 
to their villages, wiser and poorer than when they had left 
them, to advise their families and friends not to change 
bad for worse, and to relate over-true tales of the scorpion 
scourge of Russia for which they had exchanged the iron 
rod of Turkey. The sufferings of their fathers are still too 



Chap. XIV. RUSSIAN AGENTS. 207 

fresh in the memory of the present generation of peasants 
for the Bnssian agent to have much chance of recom- 
mencing his played out game ; and though he is still 
frequently to be met with in the Balkan, under the disguise 
of a travelling pedlar, a collector of old coins, or a seller of 
Greek Calendar- for the few who can read, and of Russian 
saints painted on wood, he generally confines himself to 
endeavouring to make the Bulgarians discontented with 
their Government, and to assuring them that in the event 
of their endeavouring to cast off the yoke and become a 
great and independent nation, Russia will disinterestedly 
assist them, and that France and England will never again 
appear in arms for the rescue of an effete oligarchy. Even 
these attempts produce no great fruits, for the Bulgarian 
has learnt to distrust Russia, and has perhaps even heard 
of her fondness for fishing in troubled waters. 

The meteor of Panslavism, however it may dazzle the 
eye ^ of the guests of Hoscow, has no attractions for the 
Rayah of the Balkan, to whom ethnological questions are of 
little importance compared with the price of wheat or pigs 
at Tarna. Burgass, or Adrianople, and who would receive 
with equal stolidity and belief the information that he was 
allied to the great Slavonic family of Europe or to the North 
American tribe of Tete-de-Boule Indians. 

Independence such as that of the Principalities, union with 
Servia, annexation to Greece even — such are the political 
cries of the small band of agitators who represent themselves 
to Europe as the organs of Bulgaria, knowing well that even 
if their representations should reach the ears of their sup- 
posed constituents, these latter are two apathetic as well as 
too illiterate to contradict them. 



208 



WISHES OF THE BULGARIANS. 



Chap. XIV. 



All sucli changes are what the Rayah does not wish for, 
and are questions which interest him no more than the 
history of the Prussian campaign of '66 would do if it were 
related to him. What he does wish for is, as we have said, 
difficult to determine. 

He has a general idea that he is in some way an ill-used 
being, for the rumours from the outer world penetrate, how- 
ever slowly, even into the ravines and gorges of the Haenius ; 
and Janaki the schoolmaster (if there is a school in the 
village), or Dimitri the Papas (if he can read), has somehow 
got hold of an old copy of some Greek newspaper, and one 
evening at the Bakal's has, by the light of a solitary tallow 
candle stuck upon a wine barrel, precise its news, and 
informed those present that the Russian Ambassador at 
Stamboul has spoken seriously to the Porte upon the sub- 
ject of the infamous treatment of its Christian subjects ; that 
the French Ambassador has presented with the same inten- 
tion a collective note from the representatives of Italy, 
Prussia, Greece, and the Emperor Theodore; and that even 
England has ordered her Consul to report to the Foreign 
Office upon the manner in which Turkey has carried out the 
stipulations of the Hatti Humayoun. Janaki, who completed 
his studies at Athens, enlarges upon the topic, and says that 
it is a shame that the Bulgarians should not have their 
interests cared for by a Chamber of Representatives chosen 
by and from amongst themselves; and this idea, from its 
grandeur and because no one but Janaki has the least idea 
of what it means, meets with general approbation, and the 
assembly finally separates with the unanimous conviction 
that something ought to be done by some one towards the 
formation of such a desirable institution. Tanaz, as he goes 



Chap. XIV. 



UNAMBITIOUS MINDS. 



209 



Lome, thinks that the Chamber of Representatives might 
perhaps be able to tell him where he buried his crock of 
money last year, as he has never been able to recollect the 
spot, having been far from sober when he hid it. Michal 
thinks that being a Chorbadji he would have a fair chance of 
being one of the Representatives, and that if the work was 
not hard, the pay good, and mastica near at hand during the 
deliberations, he would not dislike the employment. How- 
ever, as thinking, especially upon political questions, is hard 
work, Michal and Tanaz forget all about the Chamber of 
Representatives by next day, and retain merely the im- 
pression that perhaps some day the somebody will be 
found to do the something, and that they will be immensely 
benefited by the operation. Not having any great hardship 
to complain of, they do not exactly know what ameliora- 
tions to hope for, unless it be that the farmers of the beylik 
may get the worst of the mutual attempt to cheat each 
other between them and the peasant; or that the Zaptieh 
should not be allowed, when he spends the night at their 
village, to pry about the houses and seize upon the con- 
cealed horde of eggs and butter which were promised to 
the Papas. 

Perhaps some amongst them hope that the Government 
will remit all taxes, and send Turks to cultivate the fields of 
the village, giving all the produce to the Rayah, and then 
buying the grain from him at double the market value. 
Schemes more practical than these seldom enter the head 
of the peasant, who is contented with his lot, so long as he 
has little work to do and plenty to drink. The Rayah in 
general has no ambition to become rich, so long as he has 
enough to eat and drink : if he makes money, he hides it * 

p 



210 



WISHES OF THE BULGARIANS. 



Chap. XIY. 



he does not employ it in buying more land, or better ploughs, 
because he has enough of the former to give him and his 
sons as much work as they care for, and to produce grain 
which will pay for his year's expenses : as to the latter, he 
does not see the good of these new inventions, the old 
plough does well enough, and he is satisfied. 

The question of the schism in the Greek Church which 
will probably lead to the formation of an independent Bul- 
garian hierarchy, is one which exclusively interests the 
priests : the peasant does not care whether his Papas owns 
allegiance to a Greek metropolitan, or Bulgarian bishop, or 
patriarch: although he is too superstitious to refuse com- 
pliance with arbitrary exactions of the priests (which are 
spoken of at length in another chapter), he undoubtedly 
feels that the continual abstraction of his lambs, eggs, fowls, 
pigs, &c, is a grievance ; but if he knows of the proposed 
ecclesiastical change, he has sense enough to see that the 
priest will not want less mutton or fewer eggs because there 
is a new Bulgarian Church, and therefore he does not care 
about the result of the movement. 

The wishes of the Eayah, when he takes the trouble of 
wishing, are confined to the removal of a few petty grievances 
which equally affect his Mussulman fellow-subjects : what 
his "friends" wish for him is sufficiently well known in 
England from the newspapers of Eussia and one or two 
other countries, and diplomatic reports. Of course if he is 
told that such and such a change will improve his condition, 
he is willing to put his mark to a petition to that effect, 
and the next day he would do the same for another petition 
which might be perfectly contrary to and incompatible with 
the first. He, however, has sense enough to know that he 



Chap. XIV. EXCEPTIONS. 211 

is well off, and excepting when he is told that he is not 
so much so as he deserves to be, he is contented. 

These remarks apply only to the genuine peasant, and not 
to the Bulgarian who has deserted the peaceful and humble 
occupation of ploughman or herdsman for the luxuries of a 
town, and whom the prospects of clothes alia Franca and 
varnished boots have induced to turn shopboy to some Greek 
trader, with the hopes of becoming later one of the pillars of 
Eastern commerce. 



v 2 



'212 TARTAR AND CIRCASSIAN IMMIGRANTS. Chap. XV. 



CHAPTER XV. 

TAKTAE AND CIRCASSIAN IMMIGRANTS. 

Emigration of Crimean Tartars to Turkey — Broken promises, Russian and 
Turkish — Appearance and manners — Industry and care in agriculture 
— Circassian immigration — Bad cultivation and poverty — Cattle and 
horse stealing — Hospitality — Abstinence — Circassian encampment — 
Unselfishness — May prove useful as warriors. 

At the end of the last Russian War many thousand families 
of Tartars received permission from the Russian Government 
to leave the Crimea and settle in Turkey : the fields and 
other immovable property of the emigrants, their houses, 
herds, &c, were to be paid for by the Russians according to 
their valuation by a commission specially appointed for the 
purpose. 

There is a Russian adage which does no great honour to 
the reputation of the Government Commissions; it runs 
as follows : — 

" Kto Tiebie z-voroval ? 

Chynovnck. 

Kto Tiebie zruinoval ? 

Koniissia." 

"Who has robbed you?" "The employe." "Who has 
ruined you ? " " The Government Commission." 

So it is probable that the value set upon the goods of the 
Tartars promised at least a good bargain to the Government ; 
but even this depreciated amount was never paid, and the 
answer to all remonstrances on the part of the peasants was 



Chap. XY. 



BROKEN PROMISES. 



213 



simply " Russia will owe you the money," and to this clay 
Russia does still owe the money, and her former subjects 
have lost all hope of the debt ever being discharged. 

In consequence of this want of faith, and breach of one 
of the stipulations of a treaty guaranteed by France and 
England, the Crimean Tartars landed in Turkey with a very 
small capital, and families which in their own country had 
been comparatively rich, found themselves obliged to begin 
life anew in the land of their adoption. 

The Porte had promised to its new colonists houses, land, 
a couple of oxen or buffaloes, for each family, and seed for 
the first year's sowing, as well as exemption from certain 
taxes and from military service for a fixed period. 

These were fair promises, but they were never fulfilled, 
and all that the Tartars really received was limited to a few 
sheds in which an English dog would hardly sleep, a pair of 
buffaloes per village, for each family the very insufficient 
amount of twenty-five okes of grain, and a few scraps of un- 
cleared land ; in some cases, as in the instance of the village 
of Karamanja in Roumelia, no land at all was given. 

In all the cottages of the Tartars there are some relics of 
past prosperity which contrast touchingly with the j3resent 
poverty of their owners ; mirrors, dishes of copper or even of 
silver, different in form from those used by Turk or Rayah, 
quaint old-fashioned chests — all speak of better days now- 
past. Poor people ! they have been plundered by their 
former masters and cheated by the subordinates of their pre- 
sent Government ; yet after all they make their way to 
comfort if not wealth, for they possess both industry and 
intelligence. 

Unlike the Turk, the Tartar will receive you into his own 



214 TARTAR AND CIRCASSIAN IMMIGRANTS. Chap. XV. 



house, and you may even gaze upon the unveiled faces of his 
wife and daughters, but in many respects he is even a more 
scrupulous observer of the Canons of the Koran than the 
Turk himself. In England, and indeed throughout western 
Europe, the general idea of a Tartar is of a flat-nosed, thick- 
lipped savage, who gets drunk upon a mixture of mare's milk 
and blood, whose only pleasure is war, and who loves war 
only for the sake of pillage ; in short the Tartar is too often 
confounded with the Cossack. " Grattez le Eusse, vous trou- 
verez le Tartare " is a mot which has long been accepted as 
a truth, but unfortunately it is the Kalmuck and not the 
Crimean Tartar who lies hid under the Muscovite epiderm : 
were it the latter, the more Eussians are well " grattes " the 
better would it be for Europe. 

The Tartar is not generally ugly, and many of his race are 
even strikingly handsome, whilst his dignified manners con- 
trast most favourably with the servility or surliness of the 
Bayah. Enter a Tartar house, and you feel that your enter- 
tainer is your host, whilst in that of the Bulgarian you merely 
see a landlord who is calculating how much he can make you 
pay for the " hospitality " you receive from him. 

The Tartar villages, moreover, are making progress year 
by year, and it is easy to guess the reason, for whenever you 
come across a field really well cultivated, or some grafted fruit 
trees, or a field of potatoes, you need not go far to find a 
colony of Tartars. They are also frequently traders as well as 
farmers, they buy tobacco, corn, butter, and sheep, and sell 
them at a profit ; they are generally honest, and this rare 
quality secures them a connection sufficiently numerous to 
enable them to compete even with the Bakal as far as the 
amount of their profits, though they do not exact the same 



Chap. XV. 



GOOD AGRICULTURE. 



215 



iniquitous percentage. They never, however, suffer the allure- 
ments of commerce to make them forget that the true source 
of riches in Turkey lies in the earth ; their gains are devoted 
to the purchasing, clearing, ploughing, and sowing of more 
fields, and are not, like the savings of the Bay ah, buried in 
an earthern pot, or employed to fan the dying embers of an 
insurrection in Crete. The Tartar's money is spent in the 
country, his son goes to school, his daughters are decked in 
Turkish finery, and not in English calicoes bought at five 
times their real value ; his garden produces even the rare 
luxury of potatoes ; and if you are particular in the choice of 
tobacco or honey, you will find the best and purest of each in 
a Tartar village. 

The Kayah leaves everything to Nature, and gets more 
than enough for his wants ; the Tartar assists Nature, and 
his crops are treble those of the Christian. 

Intelligence is by no means wanting to the race, although 
it may be somewhat deficient in the sharpness and cunning 
peculiar to the Greek, or Kayah with Greek blood in his veins. 
A Tartar boy of fifteen years old has lately constructed a marine 
steam engine out of some bits of old iron, and a kettle as 
boiler ; and a tiny craft worked by this machinery is at pre- 
sent conveying passengers on the Black Sea, between Varna 
and the Monastery of St. George, a distance of about eight 
miles. 

By the efforts of these colonists the forests are being 
gradually converted into arable land — gradually, because 
their system is different from that of the Bayah, and they 
only clear as much land as can be properly brought under 
cultivation, whilst the other burns down fifty acres of timber 
to make one field of five acres, which after the first year's 



216 TAETAE AND CIRCASSIAN IMMIGRANTS. Chap. XV. 



ploughing and sowing is probably neglected for the next 
quarter of a century. 

Perhaps it will be asked by some of those who believe that 
from Islam no good can come, "Is not this comparative 
civilization and superior intelligence of the Tartar due to the 
effects of the Russian rule ?" 

Let those who know what Russian rule really is answer 
this question ; our space will merely permit us to reply that 
the Tartars are honest and intelligent in spite of Eussian 
government, and we shall find supporters amongst all those 
who have lived in Russia sufficiently long to have acquired 
the entre'e behind the scenes of the theatre, in which so 
many brilliant operatic spectacles of happy peasants and 
kindly landlords are advertised for the admiration of the 
West. 

Russia's gift of the Crimean Tartars to the Sultan, though 
coming from an enemy, is nevertheless a valuable one ; but 
it is a pity that the latter was not advised to return the 
present in kind, and as an exchange for hard-working 
Mussulmans to present the Czar with as many thousands of 
hard-drinking Christians from Bulgaria. The gift would 
have been a graceful one, and it would have left the donor 
still richer than before. 

At a short distance from the Tartar village you may find 
another assemblage of huts, inhabited not by the colonist, 
but by the exile; not by the agriculturist, but by the 
soldier; the Circassian's sword has not yet been (and perhaps 
never will be) converted into the ploughshare, and his 
memories of his lost home in the Caucasus, with its snow- 
capped mountain peaks, its raids, its skirmishes, its battles, 
its defeats, its victories, are still too fresh and too deeply 



Chap. XV. POVERTY OF THE CIRCASSIANS. 217 

rooted to allow him to change his warlike nature, and to 
become a peaceful tiller of the soil. 

His fields are almost worse cultivated than those of the 
Rayah, and bring him in no more than the little he requires 
for the bare subsistence of himself and his family ; he has no 
aptitude for trade, produces nothing for sale, and seems to 
have no wish to enrich himself ; he has not adopted Turkey 
as a permanent home, but regards himself as a sojourner 
only, whom some happy turn of events is destined, sooner or 
later, to restore to his native country. 

The Circassians are consequently always poor, and, whilst 
wanting many necessaries, have but one luxury ; their 
weapons, rifles, swords, and knives are inlaid with that 
peculiar silver-work for which they are famous, which is 
their only industry in the Caucasus, and which they no 
longer exercise in their exile, perhaps because they have no 
longer the opportunity of taking off the boots of a Russian 
soldier, or the sash of a Russian officer.* 

In their village you will find no coffee, and they are often 
unable even to offer tobacco to their guest. We lately 
visited a Circassian village in Roumelia, and were escorted 
into the Mussafir Odasi (guests' room) of the village ; our 
foreign costume soon brought nearly all the men of the 
village to gaze upon the strangers, and we found ourselves 
surrounded by some thirty or forty Circassians, whose type, 
both physically and morally, differed widely from that of 
Turk or Tartar. Small, delicate hands and feet, and slender 
figures, at first sight gave them almost an appearance of 



* The Russian soldiers generally conceal their money in their boots or 
in the knee of their trousers ; the officers in their waistbelt. 



218 



TARTAR AND CIRCASSIAN IMMIGRANTS. Chap. XV. 



effeminacy ; but as we examined more closely, the clear, 
resolute eyes, broad shoulders, and the whole " setting up " 
of the men proved to us that neither strength nor courage 
was wanting, and that their almost too " elegant " build is 
but a characteristic of race. 

Poor and warlike, the Circassians in Turkey are usually 
freebooters, and they are themselves well aware of the repu- 
tation they enjoy amongst their neighbours. At the village 
of Abdikuoi we had been talking to the assembled company 
for some time, and had handed round our breech-loaders for 
the inevitable examination and admiration; suddenly a 
young man, who had previously been silent, said to us : — 

" You have plenty of courage." * 

We a^ked, "Why?" not at first seeing that we had dis- 
played any great amount of pluck. 

il Because you come here alone, and let us handle your 
guns; haven't you heard that we are all brigands ?" 

" Yes ; but this is not the first time we have been amongst 
Circassians ; we trust you, and we are not in the least afraid 
of you." 

" Of course, and we are good friends ; but all the same you 
have plenty of courage." 

And this last cou^linientary phrase was repeated several 
times to us. 

Certainly the reputation of the Circassians here is none of 
the best, and they are avoided, if not feared, by their 
Turkish neighbours ; whilst if a Eayah sees at a distance the 
tall white sheepskin cap of the CherJcess he leaves his cart 
or his flock to look after themselves, and runs off till he 



* " !>iz ckok ei'kek adani/' literally. " You are very manly men.'' 



Chap. XV. 



CATTLE AND HOESE STEALING. 



219 



reaches his village, though even there he can hardly per- 
suade himself that he is out of danger until two or three 
glasses of spirits have convinced him that he is under the 
friendly protection of the TukJian. 

Yet the Circassian can hardly be classed with any of the 
thieves or brigands whom we have already described ; poverty, 
and even absolute hunger, are the mainsprings of the 
robberies he commits, and if he finds a strayed sheep in 
the forest he cuts its throat with his knife, skins it. and 
carries it home to his village, where it is roasted and divided 
amongst the poorest family; but it never enters into his 
head to sell even the skin. If the cattle of another village 
wander upon the Circassian pasturage, they are immediately 
impounded, and notice sent to the owners that they may be 
redeemed for a certain sum. As this plan is constantly 
pursued by the Turks when Rayah cattle (and more especially 
pigs) are found upon their limits, and as the E ayahs, though 
not daring to retaliate upon the Mussulman, do the same 
for their co-religionists, it cannot be considered as a very 
great crime in a country where no law regarding propertv is 
impartially administered, and where the peasant who pays 
the ransom to a Mussulman one day, exacts the same sum 
from a Christian the next. 

A horse is undeniably the most tempting booty to the 
Circassian, who has a great objection to travelling on foot 
when there is a possibility of riding, so if he has a lona 1 
journey to make lie begins it by a detour, which brings him 
to a herguile, or troop of half-wild horses, turned out to graze 
in the forest : he catches one of them, and being an excellent 
horseman, the absence of a saddle is no great inconvenience, 
whilst a strap or- a rope forms an improvised bridle. The 



220 TARTAR AXD CIRCASSIAN IMMIGRANTS. Chap. XY. 



horses of Bulgaria, though vicious, are small, and usually 
weak, from the want of proper feeding, so that it is an easy 
matter for the new proprietor to break in the one he has 
chosen, and perhaps before he has proceeded far he may 
have the luck to meet a Greek or Rayah Bahal riding along; 
in that case if the steed of the latter is better than his own 
an exchange is effected, and the Circassian gains a saddle 
and bridle by the operation ; if. however, his eye for horse- 
flesh tells him that the Rayah's steed is worse than his own, 
he contents himself with demanding merely the saddle and 
bridle, which are of course given up in the fullest spirit of 
resignation to unavoidable misfortune. 

When at his journey's end, the Circassian does not sell his 
horse as a common Khersis would do, he merely turns it 
loose into the forest, being tolerably sure of always getting 
the loan of another mount on similar terms. 

Pillage in Cireassia, like theft in ancient Sparta, or fraud 
in modern Greece, has always been considered rather as a 
merit than a crime ; the raids of the mountaineers are like 
those of the Scotch upon the fertile lowlands of rEngland, 
and the Circassian who carries away the most booty from 
his natural enemy, the Russian, is esteemed second only to 
the one who has killed most Muscovite soldiers. True, our 
Circassians are no longer in the Caucasus, but in Turkey, 
amongst a friendly Mussulman population ; but still it is but 
a few years since they left their homes, the effects of early 
habit and education are hard to eradicate, and the Bulgarian 
language sounds so much like Russian that they may perhaps 
even imagine, whilst despoiling a Rayah, that they are 
stripping one of their hereditary foes. As for the occasional 
loan of a mount, which they take without asking leave, it is 



Chap. XV. 



HOSPITALITY. 



221 



no great loss to the owners of the herguile, for they can never 
tell the exact nnmber of their horses within half a dozen, 
and practically (putting the morality of the affair out of the 
question) a man is not robbed who never discovers his loss. 

Poor as he is, the CherJcess, like all genuinely oriental 
races, is very hospitable. During our visit to Abdikuoi 
constant apologies were made for being able to give no 
coffee, and for the absence of anything to eat ; of course we 
said that we had not come for the sake of eating and 
drinking, but to make acquaintance with the village, and 
after staying more than an hour we rose to take our leave, 
when a cake, hot from the fire, baked especially for us and 
made of boiled Indian corn cooked in the ashes of a wood 
fire, was brought in, and we were begged to sit down again 
and partake of it. "When at last w T e left, a young man 
accompanied us for more than a mile, to show us a short cut 
throuo-h the snow-covered forest to the village where we 
intended to sleep, and we were cordially pressed to pay 
the village another visit whenever we were in the neigh- 
bourhood. 

One of the causes of the spareness and delicacy of Cir- 
cassian figures and features is to be found in their extreme 
temperance as regards both food and drink. When the 
Circassian enters upon a campaign he takes with him a 
month's provisions on his back, and this food is prepared in 
the following manner : a kind of millet, resembling the 
Couscoussou of the Arabs, is thrown, handful by handful, 
into a large pot containing boiling mutton fat, and as the 
grain acquires a brownish tint it is taken out and put into a 
bag of sheepskin or deerskin, which contains enough for 
thirty days' consumption, at the moderate rate of feeding of 



222 



TARTAR AND CIRCASSIAN IMMIGRANTS. Chap. XV. 



the Circassian, who contents himself with a mere taste of it 
once, or at most twice, during the day, whilst his only 
beverage is water. 

How very simple the commissariat of an army composed 
of Circassians would be, and what a weapon their inex- 
tinguishable hatred of Russia would furnish to Turkey, were 
she not too loyal to avail herself of it ! 

The Ottoman Government has committed the error of 
trying to convert a race, essentially warlike and by no means 
industrious, into ploughmen ; the experiment has failed, and 
will fail again. Some eight years since the Circassians, to 
the number of several thousands, asked the Porte, instead of 
granting them lands, to give them each a horse, a good rifle, 
and ammunition, and to let them go where they liked, 
promising not to touch a hair of the head of any Turkish 
subject, and saying that by adopting this plan "Turkey 
would be rid of the Circassians, and the world of some 
thousands of Moscovs." 

The Government refused, actuated by a feeling of honesty, 
or rather honour, which has been but ill repaid by the 
conduct of Russia during the Cretan Insurrection ; perhaps 
in some future exigency Turkey may not disdain the assist- 
ance of a guerrilla army ready made to her hands. 

As the genuine songs of an uncivilized people are the best 
exponents of their nature, a Circassian ballad, which has 
been translated into Polish by M. Brzozowski, may serve to 
show the intensity of the hatred entertained by the Circas- 
sians for the Russians ; its subject is as follows : — 

A young Circassian warrior is deeply in love with a 
maiden, whom her father has sold to an Armenian merchant 
in exchange for powder and ball, and who is destined by her 



Chap, XV. 



SETTLING A LITTLE ACCOUNT. 



223 



owner for a Turkish harem. The Armenian 'has of course 
cheated the father in the transaction, but the word of old 
Hassan has been given, and though cheated, he still holds to 
his bargain in spite of the prayers and entreaties of Ali, 
who at last, in despair, carries off Nedjbe from the slave 
merchant. Ali is, however, captured, accused before the 
Sheikh of having made Hassan, a Circassian, false to his 
word, though it was only pledged to a Giaour, and he is 
condemned to death. 

" His life belongs to thee, Hassan," says the Sheikh. 

Ali tries to buy back his life, and offers his horse with 
four white feet,* whose pace is even fleeter than that of the 
flying Moscov who has seen the Circassian Kirtjal f glitter 
before his eyes. 

Hassan says nothing, and smokes on in disdainful silence. 

Ali then offers him his rifle with the stock of satin- 
wood. 

" Take it, Hassan," he says ; " see'st thou yon eagle, who 
is soaring so high in the blue heaven that he seems no 
larger than a bullet ? Take my rifle, thou hast but to wish, 
and that eagle will fall at thy feet like a Cossack who sees 
thee too near." 

But Hassan is still silent. 

" Then at least accept this as my ransom ! " says Ali, and 
he flings at the feet of Hassan a bag filled with Kussian 
ears and noses. 

Hassan rises, throws his arms round Ali, and exclaims, 



* The Circassians, like the Arabs, differ from the popular English saying 
about white-stockinged horses, and consider this mark as an infallible 
sign of excellence. f Dagger. 



224 TARTAR AND CIRCASSIAN IMMIGRANTS. Chap. XV. 



" Take thy life, and my daughter ; to the merchant I will 
give gold for his bullets — there is gold on the mountings of 
my dagger." 

And Ali replies, "He wants no payment; he has eaten 
lead." * 

Another Circassian picture ; but from life, not from 
poetry — in Bulgaria, and not in the Caucasus : — 

In the month of June last we were returning from Con- 
stantinople by sea, had landed at Yarna, and taken the 
opportunity to change some gold into the copper piastres 
indispensable in country Tillages, where it is frequently 
impossible to convert a Turkish lira into small coin ; we 
had noticed an unusual number of Circassians in the town, 
and were informed that some days previously two ship-loads 
of them had arrived from the opposite coast, and were then 
encamped outside the walls. 

As we left Yarna we saw on the great marsh between the 
lake and sea (a very hotbed of fever, and which even the 
wild-fowl shooter can hardly tread), some hundred of these 
poor exiles, sheltered under coverings of green branches; 
their sunken cheeks and hungry-looking eyes sufficiently 
showed the misery they were suffering from want of food, 
the Government ration of bread served out to them not 
being enough for half their number. 

But none of them begged ; the men in their ragged but 
picturesque costume looking the very incarnation of pride 
and poverty, though the general absence of weapons proved 
the extremities to which they were reduced, for in war a 



* i. e. been killed by a rifle ball. 



Chap. XV. 



UNSELFISHNESS. 



225 



Circassian parts with his life before his arms ; and in peace 
he regards them next to his life. 

We stopped our cart, called up a wretched-looking woman 
with a child in her arms, and put a few coppers into the 
baby's hand ; on seeing this, other mothers with their infants 
crowded round us, and our bag of coppers was speedily 
exhausted ; one of the women, to whom we had by mistake 
offered money twice, refused it the second time, and 
beckoned to another to take her place. The men stood by 
and looked on, not one putting out his hand; we offered 
some coins to a very old man, who spoke a few words of 
broken Turkish, but he put them back, saying, " Give them 
to that poor lad ; he is a cripple." 

Before we drove on, some of the women had baked us a 
tiny cake of coarse black bread, and offered it to us, with 
some salt, as the only thanks in their power. 

For more than a fortnight these Circassians were left 
upon the pestilential marsh with as little regard to their 
health as to that of the town of Varna ; happily no epidemic 
was engendered, but the experiment was a very hazardous 
one, and perhaps its next repetition may be attended with 
serious consequences. 

Finally, the railroad conveyed them to different parts of 
the interior, where they were " settled," utterly destitute 
of resources, and ignorant even of the language spoken in 
their rfew country. Considering the trials of these unhappy 
immigrants, it is not difficult to find charity enough to 
excuse even the lawless acts which they undoubtedly 
commit. 

To conclude this chapter, we need only remark that in 
our short sketch of these two gifts of Kussia to Turkey, it 

Q 



226 TARTAR AND CIRCASSIAN IMMIGRANTS. Chap. XV. 



may be seen that that of the Tartars is the only one which 
the Porte has at present profited by ; but perhaps the time 
is not Aery far distant when the warrior will be more 
valuable than the farmer ; and judging from this point of 
view, it may be no bad policy on the part of Turkey to plant 
Circassian villages amongst the passes and mountains of the 
Balkans. 



Chap. XVI. 



A PARISIAN EDUCATION. 



2-27 



CHAPTER XVI. 

TUKKS OF THE TOWN AND TURKS OF THE COUNTRY. 

A Parisian education — Debut at Constantinople — A veteran — Town 
Turks classified — Family life — Rustic integrity — The roue sent to 
Coventry — Confession of fault — Education — The priest and the school- 
master — Energy — Ballads — Intellectual evenings — A theft rebuked. 

Any one who has been at an embassy ball at Paris must 
have noticed the young gentleman with a red fez, who 
appears to be concentrating all his attention on his feet, 
which are enclosed in the shiniest of varnished boots, in which 
they exhibit, either by the fault of Nature or the taste of 
the wearer, a miniature resemblance to the hoof of an ox ; 
this personage is the ne plus ultra of Turkish elegance,, 
young Turkey in its brightest blossom. 

His future destiny is to be a Pasha, to govern, to re-organize 
the old state of Turkish affairs — in short, to patch the 
political small clothes of his country ; and to fit himself for 
this task he is sent to study in Paris, w r hich he does by 
assiduously attending a course of lectures at the Cafe Anglais 
and the Bal Valentino.* 

In Paris he is only ridiculous, at Constantinople he is 



* Thanks to the present influence of France in this country, twenty 
young Turks are to be found undergoing a process of civilization in Paris, 
for one who is in England ; those who come to our country usually acquire 
a more useful and solid education, but their number is so small that they 
produce but little effect upon the state of Turkey. 

Q 2 



228 



TURKS OF THE TOWN AND COUNTRY. Chap. XVI. 



unbearable ; point out to him the architectural beauties of 
the Ottoman capital, and he shrugs his shoulders, twists 
up the ends of an invisible moustache, glances with a 
satisfied air at the gorgeous pattern of his trousers, looks 
at his habitual confidants, his boots, and answers with that 
languid drawl affected by Turks and Russians who have 
seen the world, " Do you think so ? As for me, I hate Con- 
stantinople, it is such a barbarian city." 

He admires above everything Eegent Street or the Boule- 
vards, and if you ask him to look at the Soulimanie, he goes 
into extasies over the Bourse. 

If he has the luck to be the son of a Pasha in favour, he 
is to be found every day in the anti-chamber of some great 
personage, where he is much looked up to for his knowledge 
and correct imitation of French life and manners ; if he is 
not so fortunate in the accident of birth, he nevertheless 
manages to pass his days in the anti-chamber of somebody 
or other of influence, for this is the only system in Turkey 
which opens the official career, and a steady six months of 
it in the Conac of a great man is worth more than half- 
a-dozen campaigns and a score of wounds. 

Any day in passing through the dirty but picturesque 
streets of Stamboul, you may see some grey old veteran 
whose face is seamed with scars ; it was he who defended 
the ditch of Varna in '28, it was he who was first to swim the 
Danube to obtain the boats necessary for the passage of 
the river opposite Oltenitza ; he has served his country 
and his sovereign loyally and bravely, but he has been 
seen in no anti-chambers save the battle-fields which lead 
to the presence of the Minister Death, and so when he 
passes our young friend he salutes respectfully. The boy 



Chap. XVI. 



TOWN TURKS CLASSIFIED 



229 



of nineteen has gained the rank of Colonel by the favour of 
a Vizier, and the soldier has gained by his campaigns some 
wounds, a medal, and a captain's pension, about five pounds 
a year. 

We have described this jennesse doree of Turkey because 
it unfortunately exercises a baneful influence upon the 
country : whilst the young men of birth become governors, 
pashas, aides-de-camp, or secretaries, those of less distin- 
guished family accept inferior employments in the house- 
hold of some official of rank as clerk, boot-cleaner, pipe- 
bearer, &c, and from this eagerness for this kind of life 
arises one of Turkey's great misfortunes, for every high 
functionary is surrounded by a dense cloud of underlings 
who form a fog penetrable by the humble suitor only with 
the aid of that key of the East, Bakshish, and who are a 
part of the parasitism whose rust clogs the wheels of the 
governmental machinery of Turkey. 

When we treat of political parties, we shall devote greater 
space to those gentlemen who are either in power, or aspire 
to it ; at present we confine ourselves to comparing the 
town Turk with the country Turk, or peasant. 

Besides the underlings, or servants of the Pasha (and of 
these perhaps the larger proportion are Kayahs, who are 
by their nature better fitted for submission than the Turk), 
the inhabitants of the towns are generally Beys, Pashas out 
of office, and a few Turks whose property chiefly consists in 
houses ; then come the shopkeepers and retired officers, and 
finally the labourers and artizans, the latter class being of 
course the most numerous; among the two first, with the 
exception of the Turks of the old school (as those are called 
who have not given up the turban for the fez), reigns that 



230 



TURKS OF THE TOWN AND COUNTRY. 



Chap. XVI. 



demoralization and looseness of conduct which Europe has 
inconsiderately learnt to couple with the generic name of 
Turk. 

In all lands, towns are the birthplace of vice, but in 
Turkey the distinction between town and country in this 
respect is more strongly marked than elsewhere, and for 
this fact a reason may perhaps be found in the almost 
universally Greek origin of the towns, and the consequent 
inheritance of those traditions of immorality bequeathed by 
the Lower Empire. 

The Turk of the towns, from his contact with Greek and 
other quasi-Europeans, is usually slightly infected with such 
Western civilization as is to be met with in the East; he 
may occasionally be seen in varnished boots at the theatre^ 
and drinks wine and spirits freely ; but this specimen of the 
Orient must not be mistaken for one of its pearls. 

But it is not the fault of the Turks <as a nation that such 
exceptions exist; if you, an Osmanli, send your son to 
acquire European polish and civilization amongst the moral 
sewers of Paris, what can you expect ? No doubt there are 
young Englishmen and Frenchmen who have run the same 
race, and who have yet turned out worthy members of 
society ; but with the Turkish youth it is different ; on his 
return to his country he does not re-enter the family he has 
quitted, but is sent off to govern and re- organize a province, 
where, forgetting the homely morals of his native land, he 
remembers only the brilliant "life" he led abroad, begins 
to believe that the mire which he loved was really the pure 
spring of civilization, and sneers at the embassy ball which 
bored him, while he thinks with delight of the Closerie des 
Lilas or the Chateau des Fleurs. Well would it be for 



Chap. XVI. 



FAMILY LIFE. 



231 



Turkey if the journey to Paris cost fourteen hundred instead 
of fourteen pounds ! 

Such imperfect and debased fragments of an imported 
civilization, and the stain of a contact with Greek morality, 
distinguish all classes of the Turks of the towns, even 
including the labourers, from those of the country; even 
yet, however, there is a wide difference between them and 
the Christians, for you may still trust to the word of the 
former (though they are not the best of the Osmanli race), 
to that of the latter but seldom, unless indeed it be to his 
advantage to keep it. 

To understand the Turks you must have lived with and 
amongst them, a thing which is impossible in towns, where 
Turkish inner life — with the exception of that led by the 
" civilized " among them, with whom you may easily frater- 
nize by the aid of a glass of spirits, and who in your com- 
pany are less Turkisji than you are yourself — is invisible 
and inappreciable by the European tourist, the greater part 
of it being passed within the precincts of the harem or 
home, and their social meetings (of men only) being almost 
impossible of access to the unturbaned stranger, although 
they will otherwise extend to him the fullest measure of 
hospitality. 

In the country, especially where the peasants are poor 
and their village remote from a town, little by little you 
may succeed in gaining their confidence, and seeing them 
as they really are ; and gradually you begin to understand 
their manners, their customs, and their family affection; 
from all of which you may evolve an idea, more or less 
correct, of the inner life of the Turks of the towns. 

To make a sketch of these manners and customs in this 



232 TUEKS OF THE TOWN AND COUNTRY. Chap. XVI. 



chapter is superfluous, but we must say once for all that the 
morals of the Turks as a race are as pure as those of any 
class in Europe ; the harem is not what you imagine it to 
be from steel engravings and chromo- lithographs, but is just 
as much a " home " as your own. It is only wealthy tax- 
farmers, and Pashas who have made their fortunes, who 
people their harems with Odalisques ; that of a genuine 
Turk encloses a family as much loved, and sentiments of 
relationship as strong and as well developed, as will be 
found in any English mansion or cottage, notwithstanding 
that the enemies of Turkey never cease repeating that this 
country can never have a great future because family ties 
are unknown — an assertion which is not an error, but a 
wilful calumny. We are by no means going to advocate 
polygamy,* but we must repeat that the purest family 
love exists in the harem as much as in any household of 
Europe. # 

Another common mistake is to represent Turkish women 
as obese beings, whose beauty is estimated by the number 
of stones of fat which compose it, whose occupation of 
stuffing themselves with sweetmeats from morning till night 
is interrupted only by the torture of a Nubian slave or 
two, and whose sole education is a love of jewels, dress, and 
luxury. 

The Turkish girl, till her fifteenth year, goes to the village 
school (Mekteb), and though it may be that the Hodja 
cannot teach her many accomplishments, and that she is 

* For arguments in favour of this system, we refer the curious reader to 
those of Napoleon, as quoted in Montholon's Memoirs; not having the 
book here we are unable to specify the page where they may be found, 
but as far as we recollect, it is in the Chapter upon the War in Egypt. 



Chap. XVI. 



RUSTIC INTEGRITY. 



233 



ignorant of the favourite air from Offenbach's latest opera 
as given by the French Dramatic Company at Constan- 
tinople, she at least learns to read and write ; and in the 
same school where the boys are taught to become honest 
men. she learns to be an honest woman and a good mother 
of a family. 

The Turk has far more respect for his wife than the 
Rayah shows to the female of his species, whom he con- 
stantly thrashes and forces to do work only fitted for men ; 
the Turk acts with a certain feeling of delicacy, and does 
not compel his wife either to labour in the fields or to do 
the hard work of the household, and she is consequently 
generally occupied in the care of her family and such other 
essentially feminine employments as embroidery and cookery, 
in both of which arts she excels. 

It is amongst the mountains and the forests that we find 
the true Turk, of jurre morals, simple habits, and upright 
character; the corruption of the towns may have soiled 
some of the Turks who inhabit them, rendering even the 
most honest suspicious, and in a manner denationalizing 
the Osmanli exposed to its influence, but its pestilential 
breath does not infest the pure air of the Turkish villages. 
Perhaps the voice of the Imam from the white minaret, as 
five times a day he summons the faithful to prayer, drives 
away the Evil Spirit to seek refuge in a Rayah village 
amongst the Tukhans, those shrines dedicated to him. 

If a young Turk going to the town meets there a friend 
who belongs to the civilized class, he may perhaps be led 
astray by bad example ; but as he returns to his quiet hamlet 
its very tranquillity and repose seems to rebuke his fault, 
and to cause a profound disgust for those pleasures of the 



TURKS OF THE TOWN AND COUNTRY. 



Chap XVI. 



town which degrade body and soul by an indulgence in 
liquors forbidden by the Prophet; even were it not so, the 
stern regard of the Imam and the Hodja are mute reproaches 
which act as a check upon those who are inclined to deyelope 
tastes, which, though tolerated in the towns, are stigmatized 
in the forest. 

A Turk of the towns who has acquired the vice of drink- 
ing, or upon whose character there is a stain, is no longer 
received as a brother by the Turks of the villages; they 
give him the hospitality he claims, for shelter, fire, bread, 
and water may be denied to none ; but their hearts are not 
open to him: "There is bread, eat; there is fire, warm 
thyself; there is a rug, sleep." But on his arrival the old 
men are silent, the young men quit the ocla,* the children 
do not group around the stranger, and as soon as the 
civilized Turk is served he remains alone in a sort of 
moral quarantine. This hospitality is irksome to him, 
and he soon learns to make his halting-places in the Eayah 
villages, where he is sure of finding congenial boon-com- 
panions to drink with him, and to listen to stories which 
would shock the ears of the country Turk but are the 
delight of the Papas and the Tukhanji. 

The country Turks are sober in the extreme, and alcoholic 
liquors are not allowed to be sold in their villages ; we have 
never seen a Turk of this class tipsy, and it is probably to 
this abstinence as well as their extreme personal cleanliness 
that they owe their great longevity ; a Mussulman of eighty 
years old is much more frequently met with than a Rayah 
of fifty-five, and is infinitely more vigorous and active : 



* The mussafir odasi, or guests' apartment. 



Chap. XVI. 



CONFESSION OF FAULT. 



235 



within a circumference of a few leagues, in tins neighbour- 
hood alone we know of nearly a dozen centenarians. 

The peasants are usually, and with very rare exceptions, 
of unimpeachable honesty, their word is sacredly observed, 
their manners are simple and patriarchal, and from a toler- 
ably wide experience we believe them to be far superior, 
in point of general morality, to the corresponding class of 
any part of Europe. 

This great superiority is chiefly owing to the presence 
in their villages of the two deputies of the Ulema, the 
Hodja, and Imam,* to the respect felt for them by the people, 
and to the religious and moral instruction which they bestow 
upon the young, as well as the censorship which they exer- 
cise over the morality of the adults. 

History and tradition have also their salutary effects ; one 
Turk will say to another, " Thy ancestor Kara Hassan would 
not have acted thus," and as Said has none of that false 
shame so common in the West, which makes a man ashamed 
of confessing that he is in the wrong, he says, "Thou art 
right, Mechmet; I have acted badly, forgive me;" and by 
this frank apology he does not lose either the esteem or 
respect of his friends and acquaintances — on the contrary, 
they say of him, " Said is a doghrou adam (a straightforward, 
upright man) who is ashamed of having done wrong, and 
admits his fault bravely and openly," 

This is a kind of courage which is very rare in Europe. 

Duelling is unknown amongst the Turks, perhaps because 
they are all brave, and in their opinion mere courage does 
not make wrong, right; but another cause of its absence 



* These two offices are sometimes united in the same person. 



236 TURKS OF THE TOWN AND COUNTRY. Chap. XVI. 



is undoubtedly the extreme and delicate sense of justice 
which reigns amongst them : — Mouracl offends Hassan, who 
tells him of it openly, and Mourad asks pardon and endea- 
vours to make reparation; should he refuse to do so it is 
he, and not Hassan, who is dishonoured, for the whole village 
gives its verdict, and if he persists in refusing reparation he 
is put under the ban of public censure, and his life becomes 
so unbearable that he is forced to give in or to quit the 
village. 

A point little known in England is the good education 
possessed by the Turkish peasants in general ; thanks to 
the excellent schools which exist in all their villages, 
at least half of the population are able both to read and to 
write a language which requires five or six times more study 
than any one of the European family of tongues ; in Turkish 
there are fourteen different kinds of writing, and if a man 
wishes to put his knowledge to a profitable use he must be 
able to decipher at least four or five out of the number — 
a fact which proves that the primary education of the Turk 
is not a very easy matter. There are few Turks who cannot 
read the Koran, and many are well acquainted with arith- 
metic as far as the rule of three, besides having a fair know- 
ledge of geography and the history of their country ; they 
are often familiar with the writings of the Ottoman poets, 
historians, and philosophers, their greatest pleasure being to 
read aloud or to listen to tales of old times. 

The greatest benefit conferred by the Hoclja is the reli- 
gious instruction in the precepts of the Koran, which incul- 
cates a severe practical morality, and renders the Turk 
susceptible of a civilisation, which, though it might differ 
in some points from our own, would be based upon the 



Chap. XYI. THE PRIEST AXD THE SCHOOLMASTER. 237 



same foundation of social morality and absolute respect for 
the rights of property. 

It must not be thought from what we have said that 
the Mussulmans are in any way priest-ridden : the Imam, 
in spite of his office as interpreter of the Koran, is not con- 
sidered as a sacred personage; both he and the Hodja are 
respected for their superior learning, and the example of 
good conduct which they set, rather than as ministers 
of religion, and an Imam of bad character would be speedily 
expelled from his village. These two functionaries, of whom 
the one represents religion and the other education, are 
usually poor, as they do not tax their villages after the 
manner of the Greek Papas; their respective offices do 
not prevent them labouring in the fields or elsewhere, but 
they exact no forced help from their neighbours, and though 
sometimes a young man will help an old Imam to plough 
or sow his fields, it is old age that he assists, not the priest- 
hood. 

It is to this influence that Turkey owes the high moral 
character of her Osmanli population, and from it she may 
hope one day to introduce a reasonable civilization into the 
country. This adaptability of the Turk for civilization is 
discussed elsewhere, but we take this opportunity of remark- 
ing that the extreme religious fanaticism, which is so in- 
separably connected in the ideas of Europe with the Mussul- 
man race, does not exist at all, at least in those provinces 
which we have studied. If the Turk despises the Kayahs, 
it is not because they are Christians, for he considers the 
religion of Christ as next best to his own, but on account 
of their character and morals ; and in this he is right, for 
the most sensitive Kayahphile, after a year's residence 



238 



TURKS OF THE TOWN AND COUNTRY. Chap. XVI. 



amongst the professors of the Greek rite, will hardly be 
able to deny that in all points, even that of Christianity, the 
Eastern Christian is far inferior to the follower of Mahomet. 
The Turk, far from refusing, asks for civilization, but he 
demands that it shall not be created by sapping the founda- 
tions of his creed and his nationality, and will not accept 
such a system as begins by informing him that he is an 
ignorant brute, that his religion is infamous, that his 
nationality is a delusion, and which urges him to renounce 
his belief, his traditions, and his memories of the past, that 
he may the better copy the Greek merchant or the young 
Turk with his fresh coating of bad French polish. Such 
a mockery of civilization, such a whited sepulchre as this, 
the Turk rejects with horror, and it is for this reason 
that the reformers of the present day have as yet done 
nothing but entangle and destroy all they touch, and that, 
whilst they follow the system on which they seem bent, 
they will attain to no other result so long as the heart of 
the noble Turkish peasant is in the right place. 

The Turk works hard, and, contrary to the general idea, 
is extremely active and supple as well as powerful; the 
conventional Turk, stretched upon a divan and yawning 
between innumerable cups of coffee and countless chi- 
bouques, is as unknown in the Balkan as the conventional 
Kayah, passive, pious, and patriotic. The Turk of eighty 
years labours to make up for the time taken from him by 
his military service ; whilst the Eayah, morally and physi- 
cally degraded and idle, lies dead drunk upon a dung-heap 
in front of the Tukhan. Such is the photograph of the two 
races, as opposed to the fancy sketches of Europe. 

To see a Turk work is a real pleasure, for he seems as 



Chap. XVI. 



ENERGY. 



'239 



if he liked his labour, and as he walks at the tail of his 
plough he sings an "Aman,"* which relates the deeds of 
Selim II. or some other Ottoman hero; as he wields with 
his brown but delicately shaped hands a huge axe, heavy 
as the mace of Coeur-de-Lion, you almost fancy that you 
see Koland cleaving the black cow down to the chine ; what 
a difference between him and the Rayah, who scratches up 
his fields like a hen, and handles his axe as if all his fingers 
were blistered ! 

Even the amusements of the Turk are hard work, for they 
generally consist in shooting, and he reposes from his labour 
by a walk of forty miles over mountain and ravine in search 
of game. When evening comes on, the young men sit 
around the elders, who read aloud, relate the history and 
deeds of by-gone heroes, or discuss the questions of the 
day, political or social, in a manner far more profound than 
the occupants of an English country tap-room, whilst by 
listening to them the youths form their minds and their 
opinions. Sometimes athletic games and gymnastics (of 
which they are very fond), occupy their leisure hours, but 
there is no drinking and no quarrelling; what a difference 
between these sober and quiet recreations and the drunken 
orgies and obscene dances by which the 183 days and 365 
evenings of idleness of the Rayah are occupied ! 

The Turk has his faults, but who has not ? He is honest, 
sober, industrious, would recoil with disgust from a fraud 
or a cheat, and would never steal a sum of money or an 
ox ; but he will in his youth become a Balkan Chelibi, and 

* The generic name of most Turkish songs : " Aman, Aman ! " is the 
general refrain of their ballads, like the old Spanish " Aydemi," with which 
it is identical in meaning. 



240 TURKS OF THE TOWN AND COUNTRY. Chap. XVI. 

lie cannot resist the temptation to possess himself of his 
neighbour's hound. 

His natural activity and courage urge him to the adven- 
turous life of a gentleman of the forest, but, like the Scotch 
freebooter of old, never will the Turkish brigand stain his 
conscience by an act of cowardly violence or by a crime 
which he considers dishonourable ; he robs, but he retains 
his sentiment of honour intact. Although a sportsman by 
nature, or perhaps because he is so, he does not consider 
that he is doing a dishonourable thing by taking a hound 
belonging to some one else, but the older Turks are not 
of the same opinion, as the following anecdote will show. 

Some time since a young Turk stole a hound from us in 
the forest and in broad daylight: we had an idea as to the 
identity of the robber, and sent a servant to his village to 
complain to the elders ; they summoned the offender, and 
told him that he had dishonoured the village ; he replied, 
"I took the dog in broad daylight;" but the old men 
answered him, "You stole it." The young man, with tears 
in his eyes, gave up the hound, and his shame at being thus 
reproached was so great that he enlisted in order to leave 
the village. 



Chap. XVIf. 



EXEMPTIONS FROM TAXATION. 



241 



CHAPTEE XVII. 

RELATIVE POSITIONS OF TOWN AND COUNTRY. 

Constantinople and many other towns exempt from taxation — Encourage- 
ment to fraudulent commerce — Monomania a la Haussman — Favourit- 
ism towards foreigners — Stamp tax licenses and town property tax ■ — 
" Improvements " at Varna. 

When Mahomet II. had conquered the capital of the last 
of the Csesars he found the town almost deserted, and in 
order to induce the inhabitants to remain, as well as to 
attract others, he exempted from all taxes the dwellers in 
Constantinople. 

In a time when Turkey was but one vast camp, the 
resources of the country districts of but little importance 
compared with the welfare of Stamboul, and the science 
of political economy completely unknown, such an idea of 
creating a vast and splendid capital was consistent with 
the reasoning of the period; but in our days when every 
statesman, worthy of the name, seeks for means of dividing 
as equitably as possible amongst the people the burdens 
rendered necessary by the expenses of the State, when every 
sensible Government calls in the aid of political economy to 
assist in developing the resources and utilizing the dormant 
wealth of the country, when it encourages all industry 
which tends to increase the riches of the nation, and in 
every possible way diminishes the parasitism which would 
mar its prosperity, such an infatuation in favour of the 

R 



242 POSITIONS OF TOWN AND COUNTRY. Chap. XVII. 

towns on the part of the present rulers of Turkey is more 
than illogical, it is inexplicable. 

According to some old statistics, unfortunately the only 
ones we have, the inhabitants of the towns number nearly 
two millions, of which Constantinople absorbs about half, 
and the total population of European Turkey is given as 
eleven millions; thus if the capital alone were exempted 
from taxes, there would still be one-eleventh of the entire 
population thus favoured, but this privilege is shared by 
many other towns, and forms a still more sensible burden 
upon the country, and a great diminution of the revenues of 
the state. When we proceed to compare the position of the 
dwellers in the towns with that of the inhabitants of 
the country, the evil becomes still more apparent. 

Besides the Pashas in office, or looking out for office, with 
their households and the crowds which fill their anti-cham- 
bers—besides these parasites who fatten upon the blood of 
the State — the population of the towns is composed (with 
numerically few exceptions, consisting of artizans, labourers, 
&c.)j of the members of the great Affiliated Society of 
Eastern Commerce, their servants and their subordinates, 
in short, of all the horse-leeches of Turkey. 

To exempt the towns from all taxes is to multiply ad 
infinitum these leeches, whose application has weakened the 
country almost beyond the power of remedy ; it is a folly or 
a crime. 

When we remember that of the two million inhabitants 
of the towns, at least fifteen hundred thousand are engaged 
in this commerce that we have described, that they are 
people who live and grow rich without working, that every 
morsel of bread they eat, and every penny they put into 



, Chap. XVII. " ENCOURAGEMENT OF COMMERCE." 243 



their pockets, has, by means of proceedings, which in 
England would come under the ban of the law, been robbed 
from the poor peasant who had earned them by honest 
labour ; when we remember that the country, the producer, 
is crushed down by the burden of taxation, whilst the self- 
styled banker, who makes 800/. a year out of a fictitious 
capital of 400?. by clipping gold coins, by inventing or 
speculating upon an Agio as fictitious as his capital, by the 
use of false weights and measures, or by any other of the 
thousand and one tricks of Eastern commerce, pays not a 
farthing of taxes for his house and shop, for the stamp 
which he puts upon his fraudulent invoices, or even for the 
license to ruin the country by his trade — recollecting all 
this, we no longer wonder at the statesmen of Stamboul, 
but we despair of them ! 

" The encouragement of commerce " is the plea usually 
advanced ; we admit that there are evils which it is neces- 
sary to tolerate, but we deny the right of a Government to 
protect them, and the commerce of the East is an evil, not a 
good — a curse, not a blessing. The conduct of the Govern- 
ment might perhaps be explained on the theory that it is 
unwilling to sully the purity of its treasure-chests by the 
contact of such ill-gotten gains ; but it must not be forgotten 
that when Eastern commerce is exonerated from all taxa- 
tion, the country districts are in a manner forced to pay 
tribute to it, and it thus acquires a legalized right to levy 
another indirect tax upon the producers in addition to those 
other direct and illegal ones which it exacts on its own 
authority ; such is in fact the effect of a measure which in 
reality only encourages parasitism while it discourages 
production. 

r 2 



244 



POSITIONS OF TOWN AND COUNTRY. Chap. XVII. 



The greatest, if not the only real riches of Turkey, consist 
in the extent and fertility of her soil, and it is therefore in 
agriculture that the capital and energy of the nation should 
be employed, it is agriculture which the Government should 
encourage by all the means, direct, or indirect, in its power. 

Unfortunately Government does just the contrary. 

We have already shewn in the preceding chapter that 
landed property can scarcely be considered as property, that 
by the abuse of the system of Mira bad tillage is authorized 
and protected, and that, thanks to the manner in which the 
taxes are at present made to press upon the produce, in- 
telligent farming would be simply ruin to the intelligent 
farmer ; in all these cases the Government sins, by omission 
or negligence, against agriculture, for not to extirpate 
abuses which crush and check all progress is as bad as 
actual oppression. 

The Turkish Government is either too short-sighted to 
see, or does not give itself the trouble to look at these 
causes of ruin to the country, and in our opinion it is the 
latter of these two reasons which accounts for the laws at 
present in force in the country districts; for from the 
smallest Pasha to the greatest Vizier one sole idea fills 
the mincl of the Turkish authorities, that of embellishing, 
enriching, and developing the towns. 

There is not a petty Kaimakam* whose heart is not set 
upon boulevards, an exchange, public walks, and gardens, 
for the rickety assemblage of wooden sheds overlooking 
rivers of mud,t from the centre of which rises his yellow- 

* Lieutenant-Governor. 

f It is a remarkable fact that the urban improvements of Turkey, how- 
ever tasteful and European they may be in other respects, never include 



Chap. XVIT. 



MONOMANIA A LA HAUSSMAN. 



245 



fronted Conac with its green or red roof. What matters to 
him the state of the interior country, that people are robbed 
in broad daylight within two miles of the newly-painted 
walls of his beloved town, , that the peasants are dying of 
disease or hunger, that the Beylikji ruins the country, whilst 
the locusts devour the crops ; what is the importance of all 
this compared with a yard and a half of macadamized 
boulevard, or the zoological gardens he dreams of so fondly ? 
In the time of misery and disease he will send neither food 
nor physicians to the peasants ; but he will order a corvee 
for the laying out of his gardens, and the making of a bit of 
road planted with trees on either side — not to open the 
country, but that he may drive along it in his new carriage, 
and fancy himself in Paris again. Yet this Pasha, instead 
of being sent to finish his days in an asylum for criminal 
lunatics, will be decorated and promoted to some wider field 
for his talents of civilization and re-organization, so strongly 
has this monomania a la Haussman taken possession of all 
those connected with the Government of Turkey. Perhaps 
it may have a political cause, and the secret thoughts of the 
governor of a Turkish town may be thus put into words : 
" So long as I keep my position or obtain promotion, what 
does it matter what becomes of the villages, or whether the 
country makes any progress or no." He knows that the 
arbiters of his destiny are Europe and those high function- 
aries of Constantinople who pay such persevering court to 
her, so he continues his reflections : " Either foreigners or 



the removal of the ubiquitous streams of mud ; the man who first invents 
mud carts and scavengers in this country will certainly deserve, and 
probably receive, a handsome pension from the Sublime Porte. 



246 



POSITIONS OF TOWN AND COUNTRY. Chap. XVII. 



ray official superiors will decide my fate ; but as neither of 
these will risk themselves in the country districts, it is in 
the town and its immediate neighbourhood that my capacity 
will be judged, so let me beautify the town, and let the 
country look after itself as best it can." 

Such is a sketch of the probable arguments of these 
reformers, and alas! of their actual organization. The 
authorities forget that it is the country and not the town 
which pays them; but to forget benefits and benefactor is 
not a vice exclusively Turkish. 

The exemption of towns from taxation naturally tends to 
draw to them, and from the country, the well-to-do classes, 
and thus acts as a check upon agriculture ; it is a grave 
economical error to discourage the only industry profitable 
to the nation, and to encourage that which is its ruin. 

An objection may be raised, that unless commerce be 
encouraged produce becomes worthless, as no market will 
exist. We answer that a market will always be found, for 
Europe every year requires more and more raw produce, 
and consequently commerce will find its way to Turkey at 
any hazard ; and from the day when it shall be impossible 
for a fictitious capital to profit by the position of middleman 
between producer and consumer, when the law shall punish 
usury, fraud, and the other companions of commerce as it 
exists in the East, legitimate commerce based upon capital, 
and acting according to the precepts of justice and integrity, 
will be able to compete with the present parasitism, and 
even to drive it from the field. Encourage honest commerce 
in every possible way, but do not protect roguery disguised 
in the mantle of trade. 

It is to commerce at least, as much as to industrv, that 



Chap. XVII. FAVOURITISM TOWARDS FOREIGNERS. 247 



England owes her prosperity, and yet English commerce is 
heavily taxed, more heavily perhaps than any branch of 
industry, and certainly a merchant after the fashion of the 
East could not do business in England, not merely on 
account of the police, but because there commerce demands 
capital, and is taxed according to its profits; but then 
England is a far-sighted country, whose statesmen think 
before acting, and are patriotic enough to act even against 
their own private interests for the benefit of the nation ; in 
England, too, there are mad-houses for madmen, in Turkey 
their occasional asylum is office. 

It appears just and reasonable, since the rule seems to be 
to tax the profits, and as the labourer pays the tithe of the 
produce of the soil in which he has invested a certain 
capital of labour and seed, that the trader, who generally 
puts into his business neither labour nor capital, should be 
liable to a similar tax upon his raw produce. But the 
Capitulations are there to guard the monopoly of commerce 
for foreigners ; if Turkey is not mistress in her own house 
whose fault is it ? It is a false calculation to dread the 
expense and risk of a war, which after all might be a 
successful one for Turkey, and prefer a state of things 
which is ruining the country, and leading surely to the 
political death of the Ottoman Empire. 

This protection of foreign commerce is also detrimental 
to native enterprise, since the native trader, except in 
towns, pays certain taxes, whilst the foreign merchant 
pockets his gains without any such drawbacks. 

The Turkish Government is so weak that it dare not 
decree that every foreign trader shall be subject to the laws 
of the country ; why then does it impose upon the foreign 



248 



POSITIONS OF TOWN AND COUNTRY. Chap. XVII. 



landed proprietor obligations from which it exempts the 
foreign trader ? 

Being avowed enemies of the present system of taxation, 
we do not advocate even a tax upon the produce of the 
merchants, though an income tax (which is unjust to the 
producer, especially if it fall upon the gross produce), might 
fairly be paid by them ; such a tax as this last would, 
however, be too easily evaded by such ingenious gentlemen, 
and therefore it might be more advisable to levy a stamp 
tax, since the merchant is always obliged to take a Teslcere 
to load or unload his goods, whilst he could easily falsify 
the return of his income. 

It will be necessary, however, to prevent this tax falling, 
like that of the exports and imports, upon the peasant 
instead of the trader ; a method of securing this result 
would be the establishment by Government of houses of 
commerce in connection with the Ottoman Bank, which 
should be bound to content themselves with a profit of (say) 
10 per cent, upon their exports and imports. Not only 
would these do good by ridding the country of the present 
traders, and offering better prices to the agriculturists, whilst 
supplying them with foreign wares at a cheap rate, but they 
would also have the financial and economical advantage of 
causing a part of the profits, at present pocketed by Greeks, 
to come into the coffers of the National Bank, and of 
keeping the money in the country. 

In order to equalize in some measure the respective 
positions of town and country, it is necessary to proceed 
logically, and to tax each in the same proportion. 

A peasant who sows one Varna kile of grain, of the 
average value of 100 piastres, reaps (as a minimum) ten 



Chap. XVII. 



TAX THE TOWNS. 



249 



Varna kiles, value 1000 piastres, of which he pays, besides 
personal taxes, &c., one-tenth, or 100 piastres, as dime ; in 
other words, a tax of ten per cent, on the whole revenue of 
his agricultural speculation. 

The owner of land in a town, of the superficies of 400 
square metres, lets his ground for at least 1600 piastres per 
annum, or four piastres per square metre, whilst the average 
income of the peasant from four times the same extent of 
cultivated land is 200 piastres, or one-eighth of a piastre per 
square metre, out of which he has to pay a tax of twenty 
piastres, whilst the inhabitant of the town pays nothing ; to 
put each on the same level, the latter should be taxed four- 
tenths of a piastre for every square metre of ground owned 
by him. 

Besides a stamp tax, a license to buy or sell, and a rate 
fixed upon land owned in towns according to its position 
and their importance, it might be only just to impose 
another sort of trade license of so much, say ten piastres, 
upon every square metre of ground upon which is any 
building destined for commercial purposes, and to punish 
by confiscation, and even by imprisonment, any evasion of 
this tax. Thus, the Eastern trader who stores his goods in 
an unlicensed house should be liable to have them forfeited, 
as well as to a heavy fine; if he signs a contract, or does 
business in an unlicensed house, the sum affected by the 
contract should be paid as a fine by the two contracting 
parties. 

If contracts upon unstamped paper were invalid, and 
their amount liable to forfeiture, this law would be very 
difficult to evade. 

We shall be told that such absurd exactions would have 



250 



POSITIONS OF TOWN AND COUNTRY. Chap. XVII. 



the effect of destroying Eastern commerce entirely; to 
annihilate the commerce of Turkey as it at present exists? 
and to see it replaced by a sound and healthy system of 
trade, is exactly what we should most desire, and in our 
opinion it is always better to kill a venomous snake than to 
" scotch " it. 

The towns would not suffer, but benefit, by such a land 
tax as we have proposed, for the proprietor, finding him- 
self obliged to pay, would naturally try to get as much 
for his ground as possible, and build respectable and solid 
houses instead of the flimsy structures which now exist 
in all Oriental towns. Take the example of Pera, where 
the municipality have taxed pretty heavily, and see the 
improvement which has taken place in domestic archi- 
tecture. 

One word upon the municipalities ; they are a quite 
recent creation, but with the exception of the Sixth Circle 
of Constantinople — that is, Pera — they exist only in name. 
Municipal guards, a sort of sergents de ville, have been 
established, and French institutions are copied in other 
ways ; but all this does not prevent people from selling with 
fraudulent weights and measures under the very eyes of the 
new police, or the streets from being fathomless mud-holes, 
and the towns themselves a collection of sheds, compared 
with which the huts of Little Kamiesch or Balaklava would 
have appeared palaces. If it is necessary to reform and 
embellish the towns, some other and more practical plan 
must be struck out ; as for the country, it would perhaps be 
better for its welfare that the Turkish reformers of the 
present day should forget its existence and leave it to 
itself. 



Chap. XVJL 



" IMPROVEMENTS " AT VARNA. 



251 



Last year, however, they recollected it sufficiently to 
raise the dime from 10 to 15 per cent., whilst they whitened 
the tumble-down walls of Varna, planted a few trees, and 
pulled down a street of huts painted blue, to replace it by a 
street of huts painted yellow. 



252 BRITISH CONSULS & CONSULAR REPORTS. Chap. XVIII. 



CHAPTEJR XVIII. 

BRITISH CONSULS AND THE CONSULAR REPORTS. 

Gammoning a Consul — Harrowing tale — The truth discovered — Consular 
entourage — Consular dignity — Bullying a Pasha — The reports — Pre- 
liminary statements by the authors — Consular complaints from Rust- 
chuk, Smyrna, Kustendje, Salonica, and Prevesa (South Albania) — Trial 
of Greek autonomy in the Sporades — Vice-Consul Dupuis (Salonica) — 
Reports from Aleppo, West and East Macedonia, Adrianople, Scutari, 
Beyrout, Jerusalem, Cyprus, and Janina — Consul-General Longworth 
(Belgrade) — Reports from Brussa and Trebizonde. 

It is not without a certain degree of wonder at our own 
temerity that we approach this subject, with the knowledge 
of the general impression prevailing in England, that nobody 
can be better qualified to speak upon the Eastern Question 
in all its branches than those gentlemen who have sjDent 
years in Turkey, with the advantage of an official position, 
and with the two objects of protecting the interests of British 
subjects and of reporting from the store of their vast and 
varied experience upon the true condition of the Christian 
subjects of the Sultan ; the latter being the one point which 
possesses any interest for the general public, who, except as a 
matter of balance of power, do not much care whether Eussia 
swallows up the Ottoman empire this year or a hundred years 
hence. 

A British Consul home on leave from his Turkish con- 
sulate is, naturally enough, regarded everywhere (outside the 
Foreign Office) as an infallible oracle upon Eastern affairs, 
and his dicta are listened to by his friends with admiring 
acquiescence and without a thought of contradiction, except 



Chap. XVIII. 



GAMMONING A CONSUL. 



253 



perhaps from some gentleman, whom a month's stay at 
Misseri's Hotel, or a winter on the Nile, has endowed with 
an individual opinion on the vexata quce&tio. 

" Mr. Consul Blank must know all about these things, he 
has spent ten years in the East." 

Very true, so he has; but let us see how he has spent 
them, and whether he is likely to have amassed any very 
reliable information during these ten years. 

The British Consul in Turkey,* although officially resident 
in a town, reigns over a very large extent of country : on his 
appointment to a new post he is generally animated by a 
laudable desire to see something of " the interior," and " to 
judge for himself," of the real state of affairs. 

In most cases he is unfortunately ignorant of Turkish or 
Bulgarian, though he may perhaps have a sufficient know- 
ledge of the former to order tobacco and coffee at a country 
Khan, and therefore convenience, as well as consular pre- 
cedents, requires that he should be accompanied by his drago- 
man or interpreter, invariably a Greek or Armenian ; the 
roads are not very safe, and for this reason as much as for 
that of keeping up the consular dignity in the eyes of the 
natives he thinks it better to be escorted by his two Cavasses, 
Greeks or Arnaouts. 

Of course the dragoman advises him not to put up at 
Mussulman villages, "the inhabitants are all more or less 
brigands," or "it's better to avoid any possibility of being 
rudely received;" so the Consul consequently passes every 

* We must remind our readers that we only pretend to speak autho- 
ritatively of Bulgaria, but at the same time we fancy that our remarks 
will not be much less applicable to the Consuls of Anatolia and other 
parts of the Sultan's dominions. 



254 BRITISH CONSULS & CONSULAR REPORTS. Chap. XVIII. 



night of his tour amongst Bayahs, who are sufficiently 
humble to satisfy even his own notion of his own import- 
ance and to impress him in favour of a people who show such 
a proper and becoming respect for their superiors.* 

Mr. Consul Blank is naturally and officially anxious to 
learn whether the Eayahs have any well founded complaints 
to make of tyrannous acts committed by Mussulmans, and 
intimates this wish to his dragoman Spiro, who goes out, 
and after a short absence returns in company with an old 
man, who kisses the feet and hands of the " Consular EfTendi," 
and pours forth his tale of woe in Turkish, which, as trans- 
lated by Spiro, runs as follows : — 

Some months previously a few soldiers, commanded by a 
sub-lieutenant, 0 smart Agha, were quartered in the village : 
Osman Agha fell in love with the fair face of old Dimitri's 
daughter Frushi, the belle of the village; the Christian 
maiden rejected all the advances of her Mussulman admirer, 
who, despairing of success in any other manner, carried her 
off by force, after murdering her father and mother who had 
endeavoured to oppose the abduction. 

These facts, adds Spiro, are already known to the other 
foreign Consuls of Mr. Blank's residence, and will be reported 
to the Turkish authorities. 

Mr. Blank thinks it is a very dreadful case, and makes 
a note of it in his pocket-book, as learnt from the uncle 
of the unhappy girl. 

Thus he proceeds from one village of Christians to another, 
gleaning everywhere the most harrowing details of Turkish 

* He has not yet learned the truth, that the obsequiousness of his hosts 
is due less to himself than to the ornamented pistols and overbearing 
demeanour of his Cavasses. 



Chap. XVIII. 



THE TEUTH DISCOVERED. 



255 



oppression (always through the medium of Spiro), and flatter- 
ing himself that his first despatch to the British Embassy or 
the Foreign Office will prove that his salary has been well 
earned by his tour in the country, during which he has been 
a horrified ear-witness of so many painful facts proving the 
reality of Turkish license and oppression. 

A few days after his return to town, Mr. Consul Blank 
is invited by the rest of his colleagues to join in a collective 
despatch to the Porte relating and complaining of the 
murders and abduction committed by Osman Agha. 

But in spite of the notes taken in the pocket-book, and 
much* 1 to the surprise of his official brethren, he refuses to 
do so : by a fortunate chance he happens to have received 
ulterior and more reliable information from a relative of 
his own who is travelling in the country, and the collective 
despatch is therefore sent without his signature. 

The British Embassy hears of the affair, and telegraphs 
to Mr. Consul Blank for information: his answer is a tele- 
gram to the effect that the whole thing is a mare's nest, and 
next day he writes a despatch relating the true version : — 
Osman Agha was a very handsome fellow, and Miss Frushi 
fell violently in love with him, her passion being moderately 
reciprocated by the gallant officer; finally, the young lady 
carried off her prize, and landed him safely at Constanti- 
nople ; these particulars were learned from the murdered 
father and mother, who were only anxious (just as if they 
had been parties to a civil action in England) to obtain some 
pecuniary compensation for the loss of their daughter's 
services. 

Osman Agha is, however, accused by so many Consuls that 
he is arrested, and, the British Embassy not interfering, is 



256 BRITISH CONSULS & CONSULAR REPORTS. Chap. XVIII. 



punished for the murders he had never tried to commit by 
several years' imprisonment.* 

The whole business was got up by the Greek dragomans 
of the various foreign consulates, who, if their masters re- 
quired hoodwinking, were able to blind them by judicious 
mistranslations and garbling of evidence ; here Mr. Blank 
was saved by a fortunate accident from aiding a gross act 
of injustice — but how many Consular Mr. Blanks hear 
similar stories, do not find out their falsehood, and report 
what is simply a lie invented by Greek ingenuity to injure 
Turkey ? 

In the town Mr. Consul Blank is by his official rank 
placed amongst the heads of society, and is therefore still 
more open to the influences which have already abused 
his credulity in the country, for in the provincial towns of 
Turkey society is composed of Greek (and perhaps a few 
Armenian) merchants and the foreign Consuls, who are also 
(the English representative of course being excepted) traders : 
from these, many tales of Turkish oppression are poured into 
the unsuspecting consular ear, for of the Greeks any one 
would almost sooner lend money to his best friend under 
60 per cent, than say anything but evil of the Turks ; and of 
the other Consuls it is the duty of one or two to use all 
means in their power to injure the Ottoman Government 
in the eyes of Europe ; whilst the rest, who may be really 
very well-meaning persons, are quite as liable to be imposed 
upon as their British colleague. 



* This story, like most of the apparently fanciful instances we cite, is 
perfectly true ; the scene was a village in the Dobrudsha, the time between 
two and three years since. 



Chap. XVIII. 



CONSULAR DIGNITY. 



257 



Lord Lyons in his despatch to the Secretary of State for 
Foreign Affairs, dated Constantinople, May 6, 1867, fully re- 
cognizes the fact of the over-credulity to be found amongst 
foreign Consuls : " The Christians constantly bring complaints 
to him (the foreign agent), whilst the Mussulman is not 
equally in the habit of seeking foreign aid and sympathy." 
It is no small credit to his Excellency to have discovered 
a circumstance which, if borne in mind, will materially aid a 
truer appreciation of the foreign official statements concern- 
ing the Christians in Turkey, and we are especially glad to 
have on our side the opinion of an ambassador, since it may 
perhaps relieve us* from dilating on the important point, 
which we should otherwise have to prove by other instances 
than the one (of Mr. Consul Blank) already given,, that 
foreign Consuls usually hear but one side of the question; 
this common error is, however, so chronic that it vitiates 
the testimony of a great part of the Consular Keports of 
1867, and in criticizing them it is essential to remember it. 

Another little weakness, though of a different kind, which 
is very often to be discovered in Mr. Consul Blank, is that 
he is not contented with being the protector of oppressed 
Christians as well as of travelling Cives Komani : he likewise 
fancies that his own dignity requires to be asserted at the 
expense of that of the Turkish Pasha, and he occasionally 
takes rather questionable means, which he calls "upholding 
his position " to accomplish this desirable end. As an in- 



* Instances could be easily given by the half-dozen, but a short residence 
in Turkey soon exhausts one's stock of good paper and good pens, and as 
an extra copy of one's MS. is indispensable, thanks to the insecurity of all 
the postal services, any saving of the manual labour of transcription is a 
decided boon. 

S 



258 BRITISH CONSULS & CONSULAR REPORTS. 



Chap. XVIII. 



stance, we will give an episode in the jurisdiction of a 
gentleman, whom we will call Mr. English to distinguish 
him from the generic Consul Blank. 

Young Mr. English was appointed to the consulate of the 
town of Triantaphyl in European Turkey, and, having previ- 
ously served in the army and the diplomatic corps, naturally 
thought himself at least a couple of pegs higher than ordinary 
consuls. At first he was very good friends with the Turkish 
Pasha of Triantaphyl ; but wishing to show that the power of 
a British Consul knew no limits, he demolished the windows 
of the Quarantine Establishment by means of a gun and 
constant discharges of small shot. The Pasha thereupon 
revolted against the Consul, and for some months a war of 
notes was kept up between the conac and the consulate, 
without marked advantage to either army. 

Einding that official penmanship was too slow a way of 
reducing the Pasha to bondage, young Mr. English hit upon 
an expedient which was fortunately crowned with complete 
success, and which is well worthy the imitation of all other 
able-bodied Consuls in Turkey. 

The town of Triantaphyl is fortified, and one of the 
standing orders of the garrison is to the effect that no 
person is to be allowed to walk the streets after dark 
without a lantern, an order which may perhaps be dictated 
by a feeling of humanity, the streets being infinitely more 
dangerous to the pedestrian by their precipices than the 
" Mauvais Pas " of Chamouni can have possibly been before 
it was cut into steps and furnished with a guiding rope ; 
the Zaptiehs (police, or rather gens d'armes), have strict 
instructions to arrest any person found infringing this edict, 
and no exceptions are recognized. 



Chap. XVIII. 



BULLYING A PASHA. 



259 



Whilst Mr. Consul English was on amicable terms with 
the Pasha, he was always accompanied in his nocturnal 
excursions by a servant or cavass bearing a lantern, whose 
many mould candles gave out an infinitely brighter light 
than any one of the misty lighthouses erected by a foreign 
company on the Turkish shores of the Euxine ; when war 
was declared he made a rule of economizing the lantern and 
risking his neck and his varnished boots amongst ravines of 
mud and stones. 

One evening as he was passing a post of Zaptiehs the 
sentry stopped him, saying : — 

" You have no lantern ; come this way." 

" I am the Ingeliz Consulus," replied Mr. English. 

"No matter, you must come to the guard room till we 
see if you really are the English Consul or not." 

" Go to the devil ! " replied the Consul. 

The sentry of course collared Mr. English, but was im- 
mediately knocked down by a well-delivered left-hander; 
the rest of the guard turned out to assist their comrade, and 
a regular fight ensued. The Consul, being armed with a 
stout stick, and knowing how to use it, made good his 
retreat towards his own house, where he was rescued by a 
sortie of the inhabitants, amongst them another Consul of 
maturer age than Mr. English, with revolver in hand. The 
Zaptiehs consulted the better part of valour and ran away, 
thus avoiding probable bloodshed. 

Next morning the young Consul consulted the old Consul, 
and both agreed that the Zaptiehs, in the execution of their 
duty, had acted like highway robbers, and that the Pasha 
was responsible. So in a very short time the Pasha was 
coerced into ordering a parade of all the force of the 

s 2 



260 BRITISH CONSULS & CONSULAR REPORTS. Chap. XYII1. 



Zaptiehs of Triantaphyl before the British Consulate, that 
the chief offenders might be identified and then severely 
punished by order of Her Majesty's Consul. The Pasha was 
moreover compelled to call upon Mr. English in full uni- 
form and offer a humble apology for the conduct of the 
guardians of public safety; it is needless to remark that 
from that time forward he was completely enslaved to Mr. 
English, without even a thought of breaking his fetters. 

The whole affair was referred to the British Embassy, 
which strongly approved of Mr. English's energetic and 
truly consular conduct, from which approval it may be 
gathered that a British Consul is quite right to bully the 
Turkish authorities into submission, even if in the process 
he should be forced into a breach of the local laws, followed 
by a breach of the peace. Another deduction which might 
possibly be made is that any act committed by a British 
Consul in Turkey is legal, so long as it does not infringe 
any English law. Poor Turkey ! 

In justice to Mr. Consul English we must state that he is 
essentially a gentleman, and had he not been a Consul 
would certainly not have committed such acts as we have 
mentioned. There is, however, an inherent property of 
the consular rank in Turkey which inspires its members 
with the proud consciousness that they own no superiors but 
the British Embassy and the Foreign Office. 

It is not our intention to remark upon the occasionally 
hazy grammar to be found in the Consular Beports* — more 



* Reports received from Her Majesty's Ambassador and Consuls relating 
to the condition of Christians in Turkey, 1867. Presented to the House of 
Commons by command of Her Majesty. 



Chap. XVIII. 



PRELIMINARY STATEMENTS. 



261 



especially since the Civil Service examinations are yearly 
assuming a higher standard, whence it is to be presumed 
that the next generation of Consuls will indite despatches, 
whose style may unite the vigour of Macaulay with the 
charm of De Quincey — and therefore we shall confine our- 
selves to criticizing the matter of these Keports, begging 
our readers to bear in mind one or two preliminary state- 
ments : 

1st. That we are personally acquainted (and that but 
slightly) with only one of the gentlemen who have furnished 
the Keports. 

2nd. That {teste Lord Lyons) Consuls usually hear only 
one side, and that invariably from Christians ; even if they 
endeavour to get at the truth they are prevented by their 
interpreters — "grattez le Consul, vous trouverez le drago- 
man," might unfortunately be too often predicted of the 
consular body. 

3rd. That we by no means pretend to assert that grie- 
vances, even very gross grievances, do not exist in Turkey ; 
we contend that these grievances press upon the Mussulman 
always as much as, often more than, they do upon the 
Christian. 

4th. That whilst omitting many passages which confirm 
our opinions as we have given them in this work, we have 
not to our knowledge left untouched any statement which is 
contrary to them, except in cases where such a statement, 
constantly recurring, has previously been commented upon* 

* As the friend who forwarded the Consular Reports to the Authors, I 
think it right to state that they have not received the four additional 
Reports of Part II. In these we find the same general complaints of the 
non-reception of Christian evidence ; but while the report from Diarbekir 



262 BRITISH CONSULS & CONSULAR REPORTS. Chap. XVIII. 



It may be as well to notice that the very title of these 
Beports, as printed on the cover, might be altered with 
advantage ; if Beports upon the condition of Christians in 
Turkey were desired, why do not the British Consuls give a 
few particulars concerning the status of their Prussian, 
French, Austrian, Russian, and Greek colleagues? If the 
Beports are only upon the condition of Christian subjects of 
the Sultan in Turkey, it might have been as well to have 
stated it clearly. 

No. I. — Sir R. Daltell. Rustchuk. 

"On a short journey I have lately made on consular business to 
Kustendji and Varna, I stayed at some Bulgarian houses, and thus had 
occasion to hear something of the principal grievances at present com- 
plained of. 

" They seem to be (as I have before mentioned to your lordship) : 

"1. The brigandage which prevails in many parts of the Vilayet. The 
nature of the country renders it difficult to repress this thoroughly ; but a 
great deal more might be done, and ought to be done, than is done. 

"2. The insufficiency and, in many instances, bad and oppressive con- 
duct of the Zaptiehs (police). Something has been done to remedy this ; 
but a great deal is still required. 

" 3. The non-admission of Christian evidence. Notwithstanding re- 
peated assurances given to me by Midhat Pasha (who may perhaps, 
however, if he omits to make sufficient enquiry, be himself deceived in 
this, as in many other matters, by his subordinates), the reception of 



describes the situation of the Christians in the Eastern extremity of the 
empire as more unfavourable, Consul Holme's account of the Christians 
of Bosnia entirely coincides with the Authors' experience. He says of 
them, " They remain in the most benighted ignorance, and destitute of any 
qualities calculated to excite respect ; and it seems to me clear that no 
edict of the Sultan, however well intentioned, can possibly induce the 
Mahometans to regard the mass of the Christians of the empire as their 
equals, until the latter, by advance in education, industry, and honesty, 
do something to raise themselves." — L. 



Chap. XVIII. 



RUSTCHUK— SMYRNA. 



263 



Christian testimony when the complainant is a Rayah still meets with great 
obstacles in the province everywhere, I suspect, but at Rustchuk." 

Brigandage is certainly an evil which is not felt by the 
Kayahs alone, nor, as we have stated in the chapter upon 
that subject, are the brigands exclusively, or even generally, 
recruited from amongst Mussulmans. 

That the police might be better organized is an undoubted 
fact, but in a quotation which we shall give from Eeport 
No. 12 it will be seen that they are not always influenced 
by considerations of creed ; we have always found that the 
Turks complain of them quite as much as the Kayahs. 

As to the non-admission of Christian evidence, a suffi- 
ciently plausible reason has been already given* by an 
extract from Eeport No. 22, and which may be found in 
the first paragraph of page 61 of the official collection. 
Sir Kobert Dalyell, with the sense of justice inherent in an 
English gentleman, himself neutralizes a good deal of the 
effect of the complaint No. 3 by a note which, like a lady's 
postscript, contains some of the most important matter he 
furnishes : 

"It may be said, ' What are the Christian members of the Medjliss 
about?' The Tchorbadjis (head men) and Bishops are frequently mixed 
up in speculations with the Turkish authorities, and put their seals to 
anything; from long habits of subserviency they are likewise, in many 
instances, afraid to do otherwise. There is still a great deal too much 
oppression of Christians by the Turkish authorities ; but it has diminished 
sensibly, and is every year, at least in this part of Turkey, diminishing. 
What does not diminish is the oppression of the poor Christians by their 
Tchorbadjis. Every one of my colleagues here would confirm my opinion. 
I saw the same state of things at Erzerourn with an Armenian population, 
as here with a Bulgarian. Whenever a gross case of bribery can be traced, 



* In the Chapter upon Eastern Commerce. 



'264 BRITISH CONSULS & CONSULAR REPORTS. Chap. XVIII. 



some Tchorbadji will generally be found to have received two-thirds of 
the bribe, the Turkish authority the remainder. I could cite instances." 



No. 2.— Consul Cumberbatch. Smyrna. 

" Some cases of secret persecution and assault have taken place against 
Protestant Armenians ; but the Chiefs of the Armenian Communities were 
found to be the instigators of them. 

"With regard to the social position of the Christian population, no 
Christians have yet been accepted in the army ; in lieu of serving they are 
obliged to pay a conscription tax (bedelish), which becomes even more 
onerous than the haratch or poll tax." 

Mr. Cumberbatch does not inform us whether any Chris- 
tians have as yet volunteered to serve in' the army, nor does 
he state the amount paid as conscription tax, which must be 
very heavy to counterbalance the 8000 piastres which the 
Mussulman is forced to pay if he chooses not to serve. 

" The schools are solely open to the Mussulman population." 

What schools? If they are those supported by the 
contributions of Mussulmans, the doctrine of the Koran 
naturally pervades all that is taught, and Christians would 
be unwilling to send their children to them. As out of 
Constantinople there are hardly any schools for mixed 
creeds supported by the Government, it would be almost an 
equally fair reproach against the Christians to say that 
their schools are not open to Mussulmans. 

" To conclude my observations, I must add that I consider the stipula- 
tions referred to have been carried out to a certain extent in the large 
towns ; but that in the districts the Hatti-Scherifl and Hatti-Houmayoun 
have remained a dead letter." 

The Turkish Government is, alas! very weak, and if it 
has not been able properly to carry out its undeniably good 
intentions, the fault is with those foreign powers who have 



Chap. XVIII. 



KUSTENDJE— SALOXICA. 



265 



paralyzed its force and degraded its influence even with, its 
own subjects. 

"I must also add, my lord, that the Turkish population is infinitely 
more harshly used than the Christians as regards exaction." 



No. 3. — Yice-Coxsul Sankey. Kustendje. 

" A rule exists that no subject of the Sultan can he imprisoned without 
a masbala or sentence. This rule is respected as regards Mussulmans ; but 
Rayahs are arrested and thrown into prison without any form of interroga- 
tory or trial, at the caprice of the local authorities, for any period they may 
choose." 

We regret to say that in other parts of the Yilayet this 
rule is not eyen so well observed as at Kustendje, for Turks 
and Eayahs are treated as only the latter are in 3Ir. 
Sankey's Vice-Consulate ; the latter can, however, usually 
bribe their way out sooner than the former. 

" The Governor gives a list of persons chosen by himself ; * this list is 
sent the round of the district, the electors having the option of objecting 
to any of the persons named in the list, but not that of substituting other 
names ; whatever their decision, makes no difference in the result. The 
Governor reports to his superior that certain persons have obtained a 
certain number of votes, and they are declared duly elected. The members 
of the Medjliss receive pay, and are chosen by the Governor, they there- 
fore, without cavil or remark, append their signatures to any document 
presented to them ; most of them are illiterate, and the fashion of seals in 
lieu of signatures, in general use in Turkey, renders the knowledge of 
reading and writing unnecessary. 

" The Turks have always the majority in these councils, which consist 
in the Medjliss of a Governor, of three Turkish members besides the 
Governor, Cadi, and Mufti, and two Christians. 

" In the Medjliss of a Mudir, or Deputy-Governor, there are five Turks 
to one Christian/' 

The Medjliss is one of the many defective attempts at 



For election to the Medjliss or Mtmicipal Council. 



266 BRITISH CONSULS & CONSULAR REPORTS. Chap. XVIII. 



organization in Turkey, but even in places where the 
Christian members have a numerical preponderance the 
ends of justice are not much furthered by the fact ; and, as 
may be seen in Report No. 7, when these members are freely 
elected by the people the result is no better. 

" An ordinary police sergeant, who stands cringing and trembling in the 
presence of a Mudir, when sent on service to a Christian village "becomes a 
tyrannical satrap, takes np his quarters in the best house, lives at rack and 
manger, and levies contributions at pleasure." 

Very likely, but he is not a bit less of a " satrap " amongst 
the Turks than amongst the Rayahs. 

" In their daily relations the Rayah is made to feel the small estimation 
in which he is held by his masters. A Turk will not rise to receive him ; 
he will be kept waiting for hours, although the master of the house is 
unoccupied." 

Something of the same de haut en has treatment of a 
supposed inferior by a fancied superior may occasionally be 
witnessed even in Europe. 



No. 4. — Consul Wilkinson. Salonica. 

" The clause in the Hatti-Humayoum having reference to the participa- 
tion of the Christian element in the Government appointments .has 
likewise remained a dead letter in so far, at least, as it relates to appoint- 
ments to which salaries are attached, for the few Christian members of the 
mixed tribunals receive no emoluments. Still, had the stipulations' of 
the Hatti-Humayoum in this respect been carried into effect, no benefit 
whatever would have accrued to the Christians, or to the public service in 
general, from the acquisition of such an element ; for the Bulgarians, who 
constitute the great majority of the Christian population of this province, 
are, both in intellect and education, far below their rulers ; and even the 
few more or less educated Greeks who live in the towns, though perhaps 
naturally more intelligent than their Mussulman fellow countrymen, are, 
as a rule, inferior to them in administrative capacity, and are, besides, so 
venal and addicted to intrigue that their participation in the public 
administration of the provinces would perhaps promote their own private 



Chap. XVIII. 



PEE YES A. 



267 



interests, but -would surely confer no benefit on their co-religionists. The 
Christians are not likewise admitted to serve in the army. Of this how- 
ever they do not complain, and would rather pay double the amount of 
the tax to which they are now subjected for exemption from military 
service, than be compelled to enter that service. 

" A few elementary Turkish schools have been established in this pro- 
vince within the last three years, into which, however, no Christians are 
admitted, and yet there is a very strong desire on the part of the latter to 
educate their children. There is scarcely a Christian village, however small, 
which does not possess a school entirely supported by the villagers." 

If every Christian village has its own Christian school 
surely it is no great grievance that the Christians are not 
admitted into the Turkish schools ; unless, indeed, the 
former consider that they ought to have education without 
paying for it, a thing not always to be obtained at the same 
price even in England. 

" Two important lines of road have been in course of construction in this 
province since 1865. The works have made but very slow progress, and 
the system of ' corvees,' or compulsory labour, by means of which they are 
carried on, gives rise to many abuses, and is a source of constant complaint 
on the part of the rural population." 

The corvee is one of the great abuses in this country, 
since its exercise throws almost unlimited power of abuse 
into the hands of the Pasha and of his subordinates, the 
latter, at least, seldom failing to profit by their opportunity. 

The sooner this evil remnant of feudalism is abolished, the 
better will it be for Christian and Turkish peasants. 



3STo. 5. — Vice-Coksul Barker. Prevesa. 

" The Archbishop of Arta . . . at the same time observed to me that 
he, too, is one of the members of the Medjlisses or councils here and in 
Arta ; but when the decrees are passed to the different members of the 
court for their signatures, he, the Archbishop, is not allowed to attach his 
signature but under that of the meanest Turk member amongst them. In 



268 BEITISH CONSULS & CONSULAR REPORTS. Chap. XVIII. 



the Arta Court his Eminence's name comes after that of a Turkish barber 
of a disreputable character." 

It is hardly surprising that members of the State religion 
take precedence in their signatures over those of a hetero- 
dox creed, or that the conquerors should, in their own 
opinion at least, be entitled to rank before the conquered. 

" My reply to his 'Eminence was that he cannot be astonished at this, 
since the Ministers at the Porte seem to have lost in their Turkish vo- 
cabulary a term to denominate the sect of whom his Eminence is a 
spiritual chief; for in an official Turkish document received here last 
week his Eminence is designated as ' the President of the non-Mussulman 
religion !'" 

Fuad Pasha to the Governor- General of Janina. 
{Translation.) 

"We have received, inclosed in your despatch of 11 Ramazan, 1283> 
the copy of the proclamation respecting the counsels given for suppressing 
Hellenic evil-doers, executed by the President of the non-Mussulman 
religion ; those counsels proving the fidelity and attachment of the President 
of the non-Mussulman religion, which are recognized. 

"You are therefore invited to state our contentment, and at the same 
time inform him that walking in this road of policy will occasion great 
progress ; this conduct of his has much satisfied us, for which we have 
written the present reply." 

What Monsignor Serafim said to Mr. Barker's insinuation 
that he was gratuitously insulted by the Turkish Govern- 
ment, we have no means of learning; but even the term 
" non-Mussulman religion " as applied to the Greek Church 
is at least as complimentary as that used by Mr. Barker, 
who qualifies it as " a sect." 

The letter of Fuad Pasha is in itself sufficiently gracious, 
and his Eminence will undoubtedly make greater progress 
by walking in the ways of loyalty to his Sovereign, than by 
being induced to cavil at words, or to take offence where 
none is meant. 



Chap. XVIII. TRIAL OF GREEK AUTONOMY. 



269 



The quotation which we give next is such as to make us 
doubt whether Monsignor Serafim does not occasionally 
deviate a little from this path : 

" The Christians, too, have prayers daily, in which they implore our 
Creator to deliver them from the children of Agar, in the belief that the 
Mussulmans are the descendants of the illegitimate scion of Abraham." 

If prayers were put up in Eoman Catholic chapels and 
churches of Ireland, and authorized by Archbishop Cullen, 
praying for deliverance from the children of Strongbow, 
of Queen Elizabeth, or of Cromwell, would the English 
Government consider that the Archbishop was likely to 
make " great progress " by " walking in this road of policy" ? 

Mr. Barker further gives an elaborate calculation of the 
average yearly income of the Christian peasants in his 
districts, and discovers it to be, after making all deductions, 
1028 piastres 22 paras, or about 81. 15s. But there is one 
tax which has been entirely omitted, that paid to Monsignor 
Serafim and the Creek Papasses ; it amounts at least to half 
the amount paid to Government — say 4£. — and its payment 
leaves only a sum of 4£. 15s. per annum for the support of 
five persons (for of course "a peasant" must be taken as 
meaning a head of a family), or about three farthings each 
per diem. Mr. Barker does not mention how life can be 
supported on this. 

But he adds : 

" From which (the income arrived at by Mr. Barker's calculation), after 
deducting expenses of labour in raising the produce and conveying it to 
town for his landlord, little or nothing remains for the maintenance of his 
family and himself ; and from year to year many sell off stock to pay the 
debt and taxes, most of them possessing in clothes only the ragged suit 
they wear daily," &c. &c. 

Neither Mr. Barker nor even the worst enemies of Turkey 



270 BRITISH CONSULS & CONSULAR REPORTS. Chap. XVIII. 



assert that the Christian is more oppressed now than he was 
a few years since ; how then has he amassed stock to sell in 
order to pay off the debt and taxes? Can it be by some 
such system of exchange as we have mentioned in the 
chapter upon brigandage, where Yassili, haying been robbed 
of one horse, helps himself to three others to make up his 
loss ? 



No. 6. — Yice-Consul A. Biliotti. Rhodes. 

" There is no restraint as regards the exercise of the Christian religion ; 
and I may add that the Mussulmans here could not be more tolerant in 
that respect. 

" With respect to their ecclesiastical dues, the inhabitants of the town 
refused to pay a fixed revenue to the Greek Archbishop ; and though he 
managed to obtain an annual sum of 300Z., I am told, from the 15,000 
souls forming the population of the villages, he nevertheless exacts, at the 
same time, the dues which used to be paid to bishops before the establish- 
ment of this fixed annuity. 

" The inhabitants of these islands (the Rporades), who are all Christians, 
enjoy privileges which are quite unknown not only in Turkey but in any 
other part of the world. They have autonomous administrations; the 
authority of the Porte is but nominal. 

"In conclusion, it is difficult for me to say which of the different Greek 
populations are suffering more, whether that of Rhodes where there is a 
defective administration, or those of the smaller islands in which there is 
no government whatever." 

Mr. Biliotti's statements by no means give a nourishing- 
account of what the Greek Christians, left entirely to them- 
selves, have been enabled to effect in the way of order and 
civilization. 

No. VII. — Yice-Coxsul Dupuis. Soulina. 

" By the laws of Turkey, no Christian, unless a Rayah, can hold property 
in the soil, and it would appear that once a house is burnt down the land 
reverts to Government. During the time of my predecessor a row of houses 
in the upper part of this town, was secretly set on fire, and, as is alleged, 



Chap. XVIII. 



VICE-CONSUL DUPUIS. 



271 



by order of the local authorities, or with their connivance, to dispossess 
Greeks and others of land acquired during the Eussian and Austrian occupa- 
tion of Soulina. A respectable Greek inhabitant assures me that his house 
and ground, for which only a short time previous to the fire he paid about 
2801. to the then Pasha, was especially marked out for destruction, in order 
thus fraudulently, to re-acquire the ground which by existing law could not 
be held by a Christian, notwithstanding the money payment which had 
been effected ; fortunately through his own exertions, the house escaped the 
conflagration, and knowing by this dishonest action, the insecurity of his 
tenure he was compelled to bribe the Cadi or Judge to grant him Turkish 
title deeds or 'hoget' made out in the name of a Mussulman. As has 
already been stated many of the Greek and Christian inhabitants acquired 
their little property in houses and enclosures, during the occupation of the 
place by the Russians and Austrians, but no sooner did the Turks become 
masters of the soil than, unless a £ hoget ' of ownership could be produced, 
they were ordered in several instances to pull them down, or to give up a 
portion or an enclosure appertaining to them, and if a Mussulman desired 
any particular locality to build upon, and the hut of a Christian stood in 
the way, means were always at hand to remove the latter either by fire 
or the hatchet." 

In spite of our intention to avoid criticizing the grammar 
of the Consular Eeports, we are obliged to relax our rule in 
favour of Mr. Dupuis, in consideration of the various lapses 
to be found in No. 7. " Fortunately through his own exer- 
tions, the house escaped the conflagration, and knowing by 
this dishonest action, the insecurity of his tenure he was 
compelled," &c. ; we will make no comments upon the rather 
novel system of punctuation adopted throughout this Eeport, 
but content ourselves with, enquiring which is supposed, 
according to the sentence thus quoted, to be the dishonest 
action — that the house escaped conflagration, or that the 
Greek inhabitant's own exertions saved it ? 

Eeverting to more serious criticism, if the laws of Turkey 
are as Mr. Dupuis says (and they still are so in most places), 
what injustice can be found in their being strictly carried 



272 BRITISH CONSULS & CONSULAR REPORTS. Chap. XVIII. 



out? It is scarcely fair to accuse the local Government 
of an act of arson upon no more serious evidence than the 
easily used phrase " it is alleged." The respectable Greek is 
simply a party to a legal fraud, and by no means the least 
guilty one. It is by no means improbable that the land 
possessed by Greeks and others was originally the property 
of Mussulmans, a supposition which is strengthened by the 
fact that some only of them were evicted; in any case 
the Turkish authorities acted within the strict letter of 
Turkish law. 

" Permission was requested several years ago of the Central Government 
at Constantinople by the Greek and Christian subjects to rebuild their 
church, which had fallen into a state of dilapidation, and the Firman 
granting their prayer was forwarded last September, urged to do so, perhaps 
in consequences of disturbance in other parts of Turkey." 

What was " urged to do so," was it dilapidation, the firman, 

or last September ? 

" I should be tiring your Lordship were I to enumerate the many acts of 
spoliation committed by the Turkish authorities on the Christians ; I cannot, 
however, omit mentioning, that so late as last summer an order was issued 
from the Konak to throw down a row of shops belonging to Greeks and 
other Christians, which they had acquired previous to the arrival of the 
Turks, abutting on the river, forming the market-place ; the Greek Consul 
remonstrated against so harsh an edict, but, as it was alleged, their removal 
was necessary to improve the streets; they were all, to the number of 
thirty, demolished by the hatchet, and up to this day, I am sorry to say, 
the poor proprietors have not received the slightest remuneration for their 
losses." 

If Greeks and other Christians, not Eayahs, occupied these 
houses, the authorities had an undoubted right to evict them, 
according to Turkish law. If they were Kayahs, what busi- 
ness had the Greek Consul to interfere in their behalf? If 
they were foreigners, why should the law (whether bad or 
good in itself) be over-ridden by Hellenic intervention ? 



Chap. XY1II. 



VICE-CONSUL DUPUIS. 



273 



" The subordinate Turkish authorities never neglect an opportunity to 
oppress or annoy poor Christians ; a few weeks since the Greek messenger 
of the Telegraph station in this town was insulted by the officers of the 
Turkish guard ship, and on his attempting to expostulate with them was 
thrown into prison, and there beaten by ' cavasses ; ' he complained to the 
Mudir, but the officers having denied the charge, no further notice was taken 
of the matter, and he was consequently removed from his post and sent to 
Toultcha." 

Bearing in mind Lord Lyons' already quoted remark about 
the complaints made by Christians to foreign agents, it would 
be more satisfactory to know if Mr. Dupuis has sifted this 
case thoroughly, or whether " it is alleged " by the Greek 
messenger alone ; and, if " no further notice was taken of the 
matter," why was he (a pronoun which after some reflection 
we decide to mean the Greek, not the Mudir) " consequently " 
sent to Toultcha ? Is consequently a lapsus calami for sub- 
sequently ? 

" Instances of oppression and violence were matters of daily occurrence 
previous to the Ionians being handed over to the Greek authorities, and I 
have had fewer opportunities since of observing the conduct of Turkish 
authorities towards Christians ; nevertheless, I venture the opinion they 
are worse treated now that they are no longer under British protection ; and 
if Ionians and other Christians were treated by the Turks as described in 
those times, and in places where Consuls reside, I submit to your Lord- 
ship whether they fare worse or not in the interior of the country, where, 
perhaps, no consular establishments are maintained." 

After expressing a considerate fear of tiring Lord Stanley, 
it is rather cruel of Mr. Dupuis to inflict upon his Lordship 
the gratuitous mental labour of answering a question in the 
aid of whose solution nothing but allegations of the vaguest 
kind are given, and which is moreover expressed in the 
vaguest of English. 

"The Government of Soulina is composed of a Legislative Council or 
' Medjlis,' of which the Cadi is the President, with eight members to assist 

T 



274 BRITISH CONSULS & CONSULAR REPORTS. Chap. XVIII. 



him, four of whom are Christians, and the other four Mussulmans, chosen 
"by the people, but the former dare not differ, much less oppose any resolu- 
tion or proposition of the Cadi. Knowing this, they often fall asleep in 
their chairs, and give their decision or concurrence with the usual ' Pelde, 
Efendi' (Very well, Sir)." 

Abstaining from comment on the again questionable 
grammar, we submit that it is by no means creditable to 
the people that they choose from amongst themselves four 
members of the Medjliss who have neither the head nor the 
heart to do anything but talk in their sleep, and (as must 
necessarily be supposed) place their seals to legal documents 
without awaking. 

" Tbeg leave to remark in conclusion to your Lordship, that in justice to 
the present Mudir of Soulina, his mild character and kindness of disposi- 
tion have won for him the esteem and respect of all the inhabitants of 
Soulina, without distinction." 

The sentence by which Mr. Dupuis "concludes Lord 
Stanley" is either rather at variance with his preceding state- 
ments, or is consoling as regards the future : if the Governor 
of Soulina had not been changed between the time of the 
outrage on the telegraph messenger and the date of the Vice- 
Consul's despatch, a period of a few weeks, it seems curious 
that the aggrieved person in question should have departed 
to Toultcha with a feeling of esteem and respect for the 
supreme authority of his former residence; if the amiable 
Mudir had arrived only shortly before Mr. Dupuis wrote his 
Keport, his good qualities must be something beyond the 
average to have gained so speedy an appreciation, and we 
may hope that during his reign Soulina will not again be the 
scene of "acts of cruelty and injustice, oppressions, and hard- 
ships." 



Chap. XVIII. 



WEST MACEDONIA. 



275 



No. VIII. — Consul Skene. Aleppo. 
As this Keport contains only matter which strongly con- 
firms our repeated statements that the Christians are not 
worse treated than the Mussulmans, we will make but one 
quotation, which shows that Mr. Skene does not thoroughly 
understand the question of military service, or at least that 
it has never struck him in its true light, that of a great boon 
to the Eayahs and a curse to the Turks : — 

" The Christians naturally complain, hut I do not perceive more reason 
for complaint on their part than on that of the Mussulmans, excepting as 
regards the tax in lieu of military service." 



No. IX.— Consul Calvert. Monastir. 

"Latterly, churches have been built in a more becoming style and 
with a superior aspect, not, however, without exciting the animosity of 
Mahomedan fellow-villagers, which on a recent occasion at Lazjetz (three 
hours from Monastir) finally vented itself in the burning down of the church 
at that village, after it had been robbed of its valuables twice ; and, at other 
intervals, the windows and doors had been broken and part of the stone 
wall inclosure pulled down. The offence failed to be brought home to the 
perpetrators of this outrage for want of sufficient evidence, the Grand 
Medjlis of Roumeli having required ocular testimony of the act, and the 
case was dismissed on the presumption that the fire might have originated 
through neglect in the church itself on account of the Greek practice of 
keeping lights burning in their churches. Scarcely a fortnight ago the 
robbery of a village church near Perlepe has been reported. No other than 
Mahomedans can have committed the crime, as no Christian would ever 
dare to commit so gross a sacrilege ; but no one has been brought to justice 
for it." 

The sacking of Eoman Catholic chapels is a thing not 
unknown in England in the year 1868. We must add that 
unfortunately our acquaintance amongst the Greek and 
Bulgarian Kayahs includes many who would rob a church 
almost as readily as steal a horse, and the certainty that 

T 2 



276 BRITISH CONSULS & CONSULAR REPORTS. Chap. XVITT. 



the sacrilege will be attributed to their Turkish neighbours 
is in itself a promise of impunity which may strongly tempt 
a dishonest person. In the absence of direct evidence, which 
does not seem to hare been forthcoming, it is a little hazard- 
ous to saddle the Mussulmans with a crime which has 
possibly, though perhaps not probably, been committed by 
Christians. 

The greater part of this Keport, which is long, interesting, 
and evidently written with great conscientiousness, contains 
matter proving that the provincial government in his con- 
sulate is quite as defective as the average in Turkey : but 
no instances of oppression of Christians in particular (unless 
those which we have already quoted can be considered as 
such) are given. We quote an opinion of 3Ir. Calvert's 
which, as coming from a gentleman who does not appear 
to be a professed Turcophile, ought to carry some weight 
with it :— 

"lam bound to add that a low standard of rectitude exists among the 
Christian races, for whilst they are most ardently and superstition sly 
attached to then* Church, the religion they profess seems to hare been 
incapable hitherto of inculcating on them the principles of truth and 
honesty. Lying and deceit are as habitual to them as eating and drink- 
ing." " 

No. XL — Vice-Consul Malixg. Cavalia. 

" The use of church bells to which the Christians particularly cling is 
never allowed where mixed creeds congregate." 

How lonp: is it since Eoman Catholic churches and Dis- 
senting chapels in England have been permitted a peal of 
bells ? 

"The public schools and charitable foundations are without exception 
closed to the Christian."' 



Chap. XVIII. 



EAST MACEDONIA. 



277 



These public schools and charitable foundations are sup- 
ported almost entirely by the Ulema, and the doctrine of 
the Koran taught in them is of course only adapted for 
Mussulmans : it would be expecting too much from the 
Ulema to ask that their revenues should be charged with 
the support of Christian professors. How long is it since 
Eoman Catholics were admitted at Oxford ? 

" It is only to honorary posts in the Administrative Councils, and in 
certain law tribunals that Christians are admitted on the footing of an 
insignificant and powerless minority." 

For this state of things, Hr. Haling himself gives a 
pretty good reason, as follows : — 

"On the one hand every well-to-do intelligent Christian, who can, 
obtains some foreign protection and thus makes himself ineligible for 
office. On the other hand, pushed by fear of persecution or by love of 
trade the Christian is a very migratory being. He may thus acquire 
wealth and eminence as a settler in another locality, but is only qualified 
to hold office in the particular district which gave him birth. In this state 
of the law a numerous class amongst the Christians is shut out from taking 
any share in public life ; and it is worthy of remark that the classes eligible 
to office, the stay-at-home and less adventurous, are also the least intelligent, 
worst educated, and most subservient members of the community." 

So it is perhaps as well that there are not too many of 
them entrusted with the administration of the province. 

" Before the chief district Court of Criminal Jurisdiction, two Christians 
were, in 1864, indicted for, and convicted of, the murder of a Mussulman, 
Christian witnesses in disproof of the charge being rejected, while a near 
relation of the alleged murdered person sat as a member of the Court. The 
iniquitous proceedings took their course : a judicial murder was effected in 
respect of one of the victims, a felon's prison opened on the other, the 
members of the Court officiate to this day, and the chief administrative 
officer, who packed the Court and approved the proceedings, was shortly 
after promoted to a higher post in the Christian province of the Lebanon." 

The above paragraph seems very like an anticipation of 



278 BRITISH CONSULS & CONSULAR REPORTS. Chap. XTIII. 



certain comments upon the •'•judicial murders'"' at 3Ian- 
chester, which, appeared in the ' Irishman ' and ' Freeman ' 
newspapers : we forget whether they formed a part of the 
articles upon which these journals were indicted. 

" The sectarian principles by which the law's administration is gnided 
further appear in the fact that no conviction for any grave offence has for 
many years been recorded against a Mussulman, and that in several notori- 
ous cases of murder by persons of that creed no proceedings have ever been 
set on foot."' 

The first part of this sentence might lead people to form 
a very favourable idea of Mussulman morality and freedom 
from crime, were it not for the sweeping condemnation of its 
close, for which, however, no evidence is adduced. 

" The indulgence, however, which, even under prison regime, is shown to 
the Mussulman, but never to the Christian, marks the practical inequality 
of the races." 

But, since "no conviction for any grave offence has for 
many years been recorded against a Mussulman," either the 
system of indulgence finds no scope for its exercise, or 
Turkish justice is a little more vigilant than Mr. Maling 
would have us believe, and Turks are imprisoned for slight 
offences. 

"Centuries of subjection and estrangement from the profession of arms 
has (sic) not destroyed the Christian's liking and aptitude for that career. 
On the contrary shows a decided hankering after the ! pride, pomp, and 
circumstance of glorious war,' and it is instructive to witness on those 
occasions when the Christian is called out to assist the civil power against 
brigands with what alacrity he obeys the summons, and how favourably 
the raw recruit of a few days in his military bearing contrasts with the 
trained and veteran, but ever unsoldierlike, Turkish trooper." 

This testimony is strangely at variance with that given 
upon the same subject by other Consuls : if the Turkish 
Government ever enforces military service upon the Chris- 



Chap. XVIII. 



TAXES OX DRUXKEXXESS. 



279 



tians it is to be hoped that besides looking twice as well, 
they will fight even half as well, as the " unsoldierlike " 
Turks. Why does Mr. Mating single out the cavalry 
soldier (trooper ) for contempt ? Does he make an excep- 
tion in favour of regiments of foot ? 

" Taxation is supported equally "by all classes in theory only. Passing 
over the military capitation tax, the excessive duties levied on pigs, native 
wines, and spirits, are burdens falling substantially on Christians only and 
have proved ruinous to native production." 

Pigs, wine, and spirits being all articles interdicted by 
the law of the Koran, which is that of Turkey, a duty upon 
these productions, even if almost prohibitive, cannot be 
wondered at : if Christians throughout Turkey abstained a 
little more from the consumption of wine and spirits, they 
would soon be able to pay even a quadrupled tax upon pigs.. 

" The excessively high licensing system on taverns is considered by 
Christians a grievance peculiar to them ; but it is only fair to say that 
Mussulmans come fairly under its operation, for they are perhaps the 
greatest consumers. In fact, inordinate di-unkenness is fast becoming a 
decidedly Turkish vice. It spreads to all ranks, renders any intercourse 
with their public men a very unpleasant duty, and creates a new barrier to 
the social fusion of the races : for the Christians as a body partake of the 
characteristic abstemiousness of the Southern races, and disgust and con- 
tempt are now added to the other unfavourable feelings with which they 
regard their oppressors." 

We beg most sincerely to congratulate 3Ir. MaJing upon 
the fact of his residence amongst a population of warlike 
and sober Eastern Christians : in our provinces the Rayah 
has not the least hankering after war, glorious or other- 
wise, and drunkenness is the vice which is most prevalent 
amongst the Christians, whilst we have never seen a Turkish 
peasant drunk ; and a Mussulman who thus disgraces himself 



280 BRITISH CONSULS & CONSULAR REPORTS. Chap. XVIII. 



is always spoken of by his co-religionists of the Balkan as " a 
bad man — one who gets tipsy/' 



Xo. XII. — Vice-Consul Blust. Adrianople. 

Mr. Blunt's well written and exhaustive Report, after 
giving a very detailed and interesting account of the ex- 
ports, produce, taxes, and general prospects of the district 
of Adrianople, proceeds to touch upon many of the evils 
caused by the want of a properly organized administra- 
tion; whilst he has evidently avoided hearsay evidence, 
as may be seen from the manner in which he takes care to 
verify events before committing himself to their report, 
it will be noticed that he does not consider the Christians 
to be the only, or even the chief, sufferers by governmental 
mal-administratioTi. 

" The Government states the gross amount it requires from each com- 
munity, leaving to the notables the method of its assessment and the 
responsibility of its collection. These notables, be they Turks, Christians, 
or Jews, are, generally speaking, very despotic, and they take care to force 
the poorer class to pay much more than the richer, or to exact more 
than the legal amount." 

" The Greek Primates in this city levy a great deal more than the legal 
quota ; the surplus falling exclusively on the poorer class. What they do 
with this surplus is a secret. They pretend that they employ it in support 
of the schools in this place. If this is true, Adrianople should have a 
greater number of schools and pupils than the other cities in the Vilayet, 
which is not the case/' 

" Shortly after I wrote the above, I learnt that gross defalcations had 
been detected in the accounts of the community, and that some of the 
Primates had misemployed large sums of money belonging to the public. 
Kibrisli Mehmed Pasha was fully determined to bring the offenders to 
justice, but he was soon after recalled, and his successors have not had the 
will or the courage to deal with the matter. The fact is, a hue and cry 
was raised against the local Government by the Greek Primates and then- 
par tizans for wishing to revise their accounts; and the Greek Consul, who 



Chap. XVIII. 



ADPJAXOPLE. 



281 



at the time attributed to himself a large share in the direction of the affairs 
of the Greek community, was very incensed at the Ottoman authorities for 
their proceedings against the Primates, and pretended that they grossly 
violated the rights of the Christians, enjoyed by them, ah antiquo, of 
regulating by themselves the affairs of their community." 

" When a village, Christian or Turkish, is very slow in paying the taxes, 
the Tchorbadjies and Muhtars call in the police to enforce the payment 
of the amount due, and something more besides. The police generally per- 
form this duty with little lenity, and frequently with unjustifiable severity. 
This is done at the instigation and with the sanction of the Tchorbadjies or 
Muhtars. 

"Last year, Ali Pehlivan, a Lieutenant or Captain of Police, was placed 
under arrest, and ultimately in irons, for having ill treated Christian and 
Mahomedan peasants, and during his investigation it appeared that the 
Mahometans suffered more from his misdeeds than the Christians." 

" The Christians are not more oppressed by taxation than the Turks. 
Both pay the same taxes ; both suffer alike by the unequal assessment of 
these taxes. If the condition of both elements be fairly measured, it will 
be found, I think, that the position of the Christians is better than that of 
the Turks. 

"The Christians are not subjected to the military service (in lieu of 
it they pay the ' askeriye ' tax), while the Turks are. The sufferings con- 
stantly inflicted on the latter by the exigencies of this service are incon- 
ceivable. I have seen during my journeys in the interior, ripe corn rotting 
on the ground, and on inquiring the cause, was informed that the owners of 
it were enrolled in the Eediffs ('militia'). Villages are in the course 
of time stripped of their Mahomedan inhabitants by the frequent calling- 
out of this militia, and the abandoned fields are quietly occupied by the 
Christians. The Mahomedans now begin to complain that they only are 
forced into the military service, and would wish to relieve themselves of 
some of its burdens by including in it other elements of the population." 

" The evidence of Christians is admitted against Mahomedans in criminal 
and, generally, in commercial cases before these Courts ; but it is not in 
cases chiefly regarding real and intestate property brought before the 
Mehkemeh, where the only law, { Sheri-Sheri ' (holy law), administered 
by the judge ignores the evidence of non-Mahomedans in cases in which 
they are the plaintiffs or defendants : it only admits this evidence in cases 
in which Mahomedans are not concerned." 

" The Christians and Jews are not in the least molested by the Maho- 
medans in the exercise of their private and public religious observances, 



282 BKITISH CONSULS & CONSULAR REPORTS. Chap. XYIII. 



nor, I arn nappy to say, can I furnish any evidence that, since the Crimean 
war, the conduct of the Ottoman authorities towards the Christians has 
"been marked with the stamp of religious intolerance or persecution. If 
there is a spirit of intolerance and persecution in the districts of this 
Vilayet, it will, unfortunately, he found among the different denomina- 
tions of the Christians who dislike each other with all the virulence of 
Sectarians." 

" Before the Crimean war the education of the Christian inhabitants was 
generally under the control and patronage of the Creek clergy. This 
clergy is very ignorant, and it had a great interest in trying to keep the 
people ignorant. They, therefore, instead of patronizing and encouraging 
intellectual culture, did all they could to keep it down to the lowest 
possible level, particularly among the Bulgarians, whose language they 
banished from the few schools that then existed in the country. But since 
then, and more especially from the time the Bulgarians, owing to the mis- 
conduct of this clergy, have broken their connection with the Greek Patri- 
archate, the extension of public education has, comparatively speaking, 
become very general throughout the provinces." 

" The Ottoman authorities do nothing to arrest this educational move- 
ment ; on the contrary, they endeavour to assist it." 

The letter of Monsignor Kivillos, from which we give 
extracts below, is curious only as a specimen of Drago- 
man's French, and as showing the lenity of the Turkish 
Government in allowing subscriptions to be collected for 
the sufferers in the Cretan insurrection, and to be received 
by a Greek banker, without apparently taking any means to 
prevent the sums thus bestowed being devoted to the only 
too probable purpose of buying rifles instead of lint, and 
gunpowder instead of grain. 

" En outre, comme le Gouvernement de Sa Hautesse de notre ville a su 
d'apres les journaux que dans plusieurs endroits des contributions ont ete 
faites pour subvenir aux souffrances des Cretois ; de meme il y aurait ici 
des personnes charitables pour ouvrir une contribution spontanee, en faveuu 
de ceux de nos compatriotes qui ont souffert et souffrent des troubles extra- 
ordinaires de Candie, il a ete juge convenable que la maison du Banquier 
Simonatzi recevra les contributions contre des recus quelle delivera." 



Chap. XVIII. SCUTARI— BE YB OUT— JERUSALEM. 



283 



"Le nombre et le nom des contribuants sera public dans le journal 
Turc, 4 Mouhoir,' pour que le public en prenne connaissance." 

We cannot take leave of this Beport without calling 
attention to the clearness of lEr. Blunt's statements, the 
evident pains taken by him to learn the truth about any 
matter on which he touches (no easy task in Turkey) and 
the completeness of his sketch of the economical and poli- 
tical state of his vice-consulate, a sketch which has no rival 
in the Consular Eeports. 

Xo. XY. — Consul Reade. Scutari. 

" Taking therefore into consideration the difficulties in the way of the 
authorities, created generally by foreign interference and local peculiarities, 
with the exception of what I have said respecting the system of administra- 
tion of justice, I cannot find that the Rorte has in any way worthy of 
notice failed in its engagements respecting the treatment of its Christian 
subjects." 

From this passage it will be seen that ILr. Eeacle recog- 
nizes (very justly) foreign interference as preventing the 
execution by Turkey of the promises contained in the Hatti- 
Humayoun. 

Xo. XYIIL — Acting Consul-Genebal Rogees. Beyrout. 

" Christians do not serve in the army ; but I doubt whether they would 
be willing to serve, even if the highest ranks were open to them." 

"In mixed councils, Mahometans always take precedence of other sects, 
both in their seats and their signatures. Mahonietanism being the religion 
of the Government and of the majority of the inhabitants, this fact can 
hardly be criticised." 

" But on the whole, making distinct exception of those cases, and times 
and- places in which circumstances have arisen to cause a general outburst 
of Mahometan fanaticism, I think that the Christian sects in Syria in their 
reciprocal jealousy and hatred,- are more persecuted by each other than by 
the Mahometans, and often by Mahometans at the instigation of other 
Christians." 



284 BRITISH CONSULS & CONSULAR REPORTS. Chap. XV11I. 



"The subordinate officers are often fanatical and generally oppressive 
and exacting, but they are selected from a host of place-hunters who have 
received little or no education and who are not actuated by right prin- 
ciples." 

"I cannot believe that any decree of the Turkish Government can 
remedy the evil as it exists in Syria. Any further political change must 
destroy the principles of Mahometanism, and a subject of discontent amongst 
the larger class of Turkish subjects is raised, which sooner or later will 
break out in revenge upon the unfortunate recipients of a chimerical boon." 

This passage is well worthy of consideration, for it shows 
that so-called Reforms carried to excess may cause a massacre 
of Christians in Asia : we have, in another chapter, already 
stated our fear of a similar catastrophe in European Turkey, 
arising from the same causes. 

" In my humble opinion there can be but one effectual remedy, and this 
may be hoped for in the increase of liberal, sound, and secular education in 
the Ottoman dominions." 



No. XIX. — Consul Mooke. Jerusalem. 

Mr. Moore's laconic Report contains one observation which 
in general might be made everywhere in Turkey : — ■ 

" The precise nature of the stipulations referred to in the Address not 
being stated, I can only reply that here the Greek and other Christian 
subjects of the Sultan receive practically the same general treatment as 
their Mahometan fellow-subjects, and that there is vast room for improve- 
ment in the treatment of both." 



No. XX. — Vice-Consul Sandwith. Larnaca, Cyprus. 

" It is to the composition of the Courts of Justice, indeed, that almost all 
the grievances of which the Christians have to complain may be traced, 
with the exception of those which they suffer in common with Mussulmans 
from the incapacity of the Government." 

The question of the Medjliss has been so often discussed, 
and so many excuses, or at least palliatives, for its un- 



Chap. XVTTI. 



JANfNA. 



285 



deniably defective construction have been given, that it is 
useless to repeat more than the assertion, that the venality 
of the Christians themselves is one of the principal causes 
rendering null the benefits which might arise to the Kayahs 
from the system of mixed tribunals. The Kay ah has also 
the advantage of being able to bribe higher than his Mussul- 
man opponent. This fact Mr. Sandwith recognizes, as may 
be seen from the following : — 

" But it must not be forgotten that all their members are open to bribery, 
and the rich Christian suitor is often more than a match for his poor 

Mussulman adversary." 

S t t 

No. XXT. — Consul Stuart. Janina. 

" The administration of justice is extremely defective in this country. . . 
All these Courts are characterized by the deepest corruption and venality. 
Judgments are sold with but little attempt at concealment, so that in suits 
between Ottoman subjects, and sometimes, too, when others are concerned, 
the verdict is commonly in favour of the party which pays best. . . Judg- 
ment is too often suspended for no other reason than to give time for under- 
hand solicitations, and to see which of the litigants will bid highest for the 
verdict." 

This being almost exactly the complaint made by Mr. 
Sandwith, and indeed, only too justly, by almost every 
Consul, we need not recapitulate our former comments. 

"There are about 220,000 Christians in Epirus, and about 130,000 
Mussulmans. The ordinary Government revenue may be stated at 
300,000/., of which 240,000/. is paid by the Christians, and 60,000/. by the 
Mussulmans. The latter are the chief landowners, but the former have 
almost the monopoly of the trade, industry, &c, of the country, the duties 
of which they consequently have to pay. They are moreover charged 
with the military exemption tax, which figures for about 26,000/. Never- 
theless, largely as the Christians contribute to the Government revenues, 
they derive scarcely any benefit from the Government expenditure ; while 
of the Mussulmans several thousand, indeed at present nearly the whole of 
them, are receiving Government pay." 



286 BRITISH CONSULS & CONSULAR REPORTS. Chap. XYIII. 

Mr. Stuart gives a reason for the apparently large dis- 
proportion between the amount of taxes paid by Christians 
and Mussulmans, but there is an easy and just calculation 
to be made which turns the scales much in favour of the 
former ; allowing that only one-fifth, or 26,000 of the Mussul- 
man population are called upon to serve in the army, and 
that each man therefrom loses only 101. per annum (which is 
far understating the case), they pay to Government an 
indirect tax of 260,000?. by their military service, which 
sum, added to the 60,000?., forms a total of 320,000?. paid 
by 130,000 agricultural Mussulmans as against 240,000?. 
paid by 220,000 Christians engaged in the more lucrative 
occupations of trade. 

It is a little startling to hear that nearly every Mussul- 
man in the Epirus is a Government employe, or at least 
pensioner, and very much so when we reflect that of course 
the women and children (or nearly the whole of them) must 
be included in this long list. Speaking seriously, it is a 
little too bad to insinuate, that there is unjust favouritism 
shown to the Mussulman, and a " benefit " conferred upon 
him, because he receives some sort of pay in return for a 
burden of military service, past or present, which his 
Christian fellow-subject, if the privilege of a like bargain 
were offered to him, would refuse to touch with the tip of 
his finger. 



No. 22. — Consul-General Longwoeth. Belgrade. 
On reading Mr. Longworth's Eeport we were almost 
tempted to give it in extenso, without further comment from 
ourselves, as a refutation to all the unfounded charges 
brought by others against the Turks; as, however, the 



Chap. XVIII. CONSUL-GENERAL LONGWOETH. 



287 



Consular Keports probably lie upon few library tables but 
those of members of either House, it is perhaps better to 
have given joassages from them both pro and con. Whilst 
we regret that the space already occupied by this chapter 
prevents us giving such extensive extracts as we should 
wish, we feel that there are many passages in Eeport Xo. 22 
which it would be wrong to omit, and we recommend the 
careful perusal of the whole to those who are really in- 
terested in the condition of the Eayah, and who are open to 
conviction. 3Ir. Longworth's reputation for knowledge of 
Turkey gives a value to his Eeport, and will not permit 
even those who most differ from him to regard it as 
unworthy of notice ; as for ourselves we have been en- 
couraged in our relation of what we know to be the truth 
by the conviction that should this book ever fall into the 
hands of Mr. Longworth, there will be at least one man who 
agrees with us in our estimation of the genuine Turkish 
peasant, and who does not believe that the Eayah is the 
most deserving or the most unfortunate being on the face 
of the earth. 

""Whatever the distance left between the promises of the Hatti-Huma- 
youm and the Porte's performances, anybody who fairly and soberly takes 
into account all it has to contend with, must feel far less surprise at its 
shortcomings than at what has been actually done by it. ; ' 

" Ten years later the Eayah had begun to take his seat in the Hedjlis, 
but his abject spirit and obsequious dependent habits, quite as much as his 
want of experience in affairs, made him unfit for such functions ; he usually 
sat crouching in a corner and gave a silent vote on all occasions. As years 
went by his position improved ; what the Christians wanted in rank and 
dignity they made up for by wealth and intelligence. They now claim 
equal representation, and, in some places, even a majority of votes in the 
Mixed Assemblies. 

" In those of Eustchuk and "Widdin, when I visited those places in 1865, 
I was surprised to see the independent Burgesses (Tchorbadjees) in Euro- 



288 BRITISH CONSULS & CONSULAR REPORTS. Chap. XVIII. 



peati costume, fairly educated and freely discussing the interests of the 
community with the Pasha and other administrative and legal authorities. 
Such changes it may be supposed could not have been effected in the 
Rayah without a corresponding transformation of the Turk, the contrast of 
whose ^.present demeanour to the Christian with that which I once re- 
member it to have been is indeed remarkable ; the only parallel I can 
think of, for that which it used to be, is in conduct perhaps equally unjust, 
unreasonable, and arrogant, which has been recently exhibited by Orthodox 
and Catholic Europeans to the Turks. 

"The rapid transformation I have alluded to, and about which I feel 
little doubt, would not be fairly and satisfactorily explained were we not 
also to take into account the action and influence of the Consular Body. I 
have naturally no wish to detract from the merits of these gentlemen, but 
there are circumstances which must unavoidably contribute to mould their 
opinions and colour their reports. They have, in the first place, though 
aliens, been constituted into tribunes of the native Christians, indirectly, if 
not directly, standing between them and their Government. How is it 
possible that, invested with this character, they should not favour their 
clients, extenuate their misdeeds, or exaggerate those of their real or 
imagined oppressors? And who, it may be asked, are almost invariably 
their informers, prompters, and agents ? Are they Turks or Christians ? 
Is it fair to put any man in a position which he is so liable and under such 
strong temptation to abuse? For the Corps includes men of all ages, 
characters, and nations ; from the circumspect and self-controlled veteran 
to the rash subaltern, self-sufficient and rarely reflecting how little things 
are advanced, if he have succeeded in changing, now and then, measures 
only, and not men, who, whether Christians or Mussulmans, are not easily 
changed, and with a change of functionaries even seldom improved. As a 
general rule, and as regards themselves, the tendency of this Consular 
interference is clear. We see them all at first flushed with, but soon 
forgetting, past achievements, all intent on future triumphs, all bearing 
down on the Turk with the whole of Christendom at high pressure behind 
them. It would be surprising indeed if the progress were not precipitate, 
or even if madness did not eventually fire the wheels." 

" Paradoxical as it may appear, I am more than ever convinced that the 
too eager pursuit of justice may involve much injustice, as it does now in 
this country to both governed and governing classes of the Turks, but 
more particularly to the former, who, as all who know anything of them 
must likewise know, are by far the most upright and truthful of the two. 
And even the governing class, I should say, however depraved by the 



Chap. XVIII. CONSUL-GENERAL LONG WORTH. 



289 



traditions of Byzantine venality and intrigue, are, from their innate respect 
for order and authority, better qualified to bear sway, and make even 
misrule more tolerable, than the Christians." 

"The treatment of the Christians in Turkey with reference to the 
pledges of the Hatti-Humayoum opens an interminable field of inquiry ; 
even as the document itself confers on those invested with this inquisitorial 
power the unlimited right of interference. At least this is the construction 
put upon it ; and the most complete conquest ever made of a nation, that 
which entitles the conqueror to say ' woe to the vanquished ' has never 
conferred a right more sweeping, vexatious, and intolerable than this. 
And yet Turkey I need scarcely say, was not among the vanquished. And 
if, as we continually hear, we and others fought her battles for her, we did 
so not more, it may be answered, than she ours for us." 

"The Greeks, on the other hand, to whom I see the address of the 
House of Commons especially alludes, are a highly sensitive race, in whose 
minds this secular humiliation has been so deeply branded that they can 
far less easily afford to forget and forgive, even if a keen sense of self- 
interest and lust of dominion, acting as provocatives to their thirst of 
vengeance, would allow them. Their purpose is not to kill the Turk 
merely, but plunder him also if they can ; there is not only the glory, but 
the profit of the achievement." 

" The only tax borne exclusively by the Christians is that of commuta- 
tion for military service, c Bedel Askerieh,' of which much has been said 
as harsh and invidious, confoimding it with the old capitation impost, or 
1 Kharatch.' 

" Between this, however, and military service, the free choice was given 
them, and as I well remember, they unanimously preferred paying the tax, 
and no wonder when we come to know (what might, perhaps, have fore- 
stalled much indignant criticism had it been previously ascertained), that 
it amounted to something less than the annual contribution of 4s. for each 
male adult. 

"Exemption from service would, but for a sense of duty, be gladly 
purchased at this price, told ten times over, by the Turks ; their population 
is being gradually exhausted by the military ballot." 

" There is another sort of benevolence which displays itself in the desire 
of relieving them by arming to the teeth the Christians, whether they will 
or not ; but these kind intentions are fully appreciated, and on that account 
are not likely to meet with much favour from the Porte. 

" Other taxes, by then application to articles consumed more generally, 
if not entirely, by Christians, have been thought unfair to them as a body. 

U 



290 BKITISH CONSULS & CONSULAR REPORTS. Chap. XVIII. 



The pig tax, for instance, would undoubtedly be contributed to by them 
alone, and having been at first imposed on sucking pigs, even caused, with 
a view to escape it, wholesale slaughter and a great outcry in the Christian 
provinces. The Porte, however, subsequently fixed the liability of the pig 
at a reasonable age ; but though it reduced the tax, it would not wholly 
take it off, nor do I think it could be fairly expected to do so. Sheep are 
taxed as well as pigs, and the consumers of pork cannot be expected to 
consume mutton to the same extent as those who eat no other description 
of animal food, to say nothing of the sacrificial purposes to which it is 
periodically applied by Mussulmans. 

" Similar objections have been raised with reference to spirits and wine ; 
but raid, or wine either, as I have always understood, and, indeed, can 
bear witness, is not entirely rejected by the Turks, who, moreover, if the 
inquiry be pursued exhaustively, may, by way of compensation and from 
their peculiar habits, be found to be larger consumers of certain taxed 
articles than others ; if, for example, the Christians make a less stinted use 
of wine, the Mussulman indulges certainly more unsparingly in soap." 

" On the subject, in like manner, of the claims, as allowed by the Hatti- 
Humayoum, of Christians to a fair participation in the employments, 
offices, and dignities offered by the service of the State, I have nothing in 
the shape of statistical information to impart. But I have every reason to 
believe that careers of a description for which they discover a peculiar 
aptitude —those, for instance, connected with the Diplomatic and Consular 
services, or the Medical Service of the Government, or the Finance Depart- 
ment, or important political functions expressly created for them in the 
vilayets, where they are attached to the Governor-General and transact 
business with the Foreign Consular Agents — I have reason to believe, I 
repeat, that all such careers have been liberally opened to them." 

£< If, in the Executive Department of the State, the Christians have 
hitherto been admitted but to few of the highest offices of trust and dignity, 
and that, too, where the population is exclusively Christian, the Porte says, 
and I believe truly says, that, were such absolute power confided to them, 
no Mussulman, as a general rule, would feel secure as to either life or 
property. I have myself been told by Greeks in the employment of the 
Porte that where the interests of the Hellenic cause are at stake, they 
would not hesitate a moment at promoting them to the Porte's detriment ; 
and yet these men have bitterly complained that they were not advanced 
with sufficient rapidity," 

u The consequence has been that, while the Christians have thriven (and 
their prosperity is proved by their personal appearance and their having 



Chap. XVIII. 



BKUSSA— TKEBIZOND. 



291 



possessed themselves of the best houses and most eligible sites in the great 
towns I have of late years re- visited, such as Varna, Tournova, Rustclmk, 
and Kustendje) the Turks seem to be gradually shrinking from public 
view into the obscure and unfrequented suburbs. Still, their demeanour 
is that of stoical endurance ; poorly clad, badly housed, and indifferently 
fed ; if they still look the masters it is merely because neither they nor the 
Christians can help themselves in the matter. Still it must be with a 
gloomy and bitter feeling that they contrast their present with their past 
condition ; that they ask themselves or others what further hardship and 
humiliation fate can have in store for them. They hear no doubt what 
all the world is constantly repeating, that they are sick and dying out of 
the land, to which, indeed, they never had a just title, being merely 
encamped upon it. They know better than that, however ; they know the 
price their forefathers paid for it, and that their title deeds are just as g#od 
as those of the bravest people on the face of the earth. What is worse, if 
driven to it, they would willingly pay the same price over again. Why, 
therefore, should they not once more have recourse to the means which 
their Maker has peculiarly gifted them with — bold hearts and strong 
hands. Why not revert to — ' The good old plan, that those shall take who 
have the power, and those shall keep who can.' Would not this be better 
than the lingering death to which the world so confidently dooms them, 
or to a life even spent in unavailing efforts to unlearn the most cherished 
traditions of the past. Why, then, are they jjrevented from doing this ? 
Simply because, as I in my conscience believe, they are not only a brave 
but a docile and religious people ; and they have been taught to think that 
the honour and good faith of their Sovereign, their Padishah, is engaged 
to the Governments of Europe, and cost them what it may, as assuredly it 
has cost them much, his word must be kept to them." 



No. 23. — Consul Sandison. Brussa. 

" Her Majesty's Government has taken a constant interest in the result 
on the condition of the Christian populations in the provinces, and in the 
general working of the edict. I am not aware that any other power has 
evinced the same solicitude on that head. And I regret to state that 
Russian protected subjects here, with the sanction of their authorities, have 
been enabled to profit by judicial decisions, and maintain claims of the 
same sort, in manifest contravention of the text and spirit of the Hatti- 
Sheriff, but which in one case have not been successful." 

U 2 



292 BEITISH CONSULS & CONSULAR EE PORTS. Chap. XYIII. 



No. 24. — Consul Palgrave. Trebizond, 

" In this tribunal, sufficiently impartial from its very organization, no 
legal 'difference is made between Turk and Christian, and the witness of 
either is equally admitted in every case. 

" Indeed, whatever occasional injustices may here occur weigh, for the 
most, heavier on a Turk than on a Christian, because the former has, in 
matter of fact, no ulterior appeal, while the latter habitually interposes the 
authority of some Consulate, especially the Greek or the Russian. 

" The free exercise of religion. — In this respect also the Christian subjects 
of the Sultan have no cause for complaint. A Firman is, indeed, required 
for the erection of a new church, but so it is also for that of a new mosque ; 
and it is granted, perhaps, with too much facility in either case. Bells are 
put up and rung, crosses and pictures carried about, and ecclesiastical 
dresses worn everywhere and openly. 

" The general bearing of Mahometans towards Christians in these parts 
is in a word one of absolute and unequivocal toleration. 

" The only approach to a grievance, and that, too, of a strictly local 
character, within the last ten years, has been that of the ' Kroonileyahs,' or 
the inhabitants of Kroom, a village about half-way between Trebizond and 
Erzeroom, somewhat eastward. Here a considerable population of 2000 
hearths, or 10,000 sonls in all, and it would appear, of Byzantine origin, 
had for a long time past been Mahometans in public, and Christians in 
private. 

" During the extension of Russian influence in these parts, which 
followed hard on the Crimean war, these families declared themselves 
altogether Christian, and many of them took besides a sort of Russian 
naturalization. This done, they declined to furnish any longer the 
customary military contingent because they were Christians, or to pay 
the compensatory ' Indadeeyah,' because they had been Mahometans, and 
for better security each man signed himself in the village registers by a 
double name, one of Christian signification, one Mahometan. 

" The Government of Constantinople decided, with the agreement, I 
understand, of the European representatives then residing, that these 
Kroomleyahs should continue to furnish the military contingent as before, 
but should be in return exempt from the Indadeeyah. The reasons of this 
decision are obvious, and perfectly just. But the arrangement did not suit 
the Kroomleyahs, who, like most of their kind in the East, were not 
fighting men ; and they attempted again and again to ^vade it. Con- 
siderable irregularities were the result ; and sometimes, in virtue of 



Chap. XVIII. 



TREBIZOND. 



293 



their double names on the register, the Kroomleyahs had - not only to 
furnish the military contingent, but to pay the Indadeeyah also. This 
was unfair ; the local Governor or ' Mudir ' of Kroom is said to have 
pocketed the money. Recently the matter was carried before the Pasha of 
Trebizond himself, and the vexation was put an end to. But the Kroom- 
leyahs, not content with this, now demand exemption from military service, 
offering pecuniary compensation." 

The latter part of the history of the Kroomleyahs is 
amusing as shewing how people may be a little too clever ; 
it was a rather sharp thing of the Mudir to take advantage 
of the double registration, but the Kroomleyahs seem to 
haye been rather sharp customers, and it was only diamond 
cut diamond. 

" It is precisely in these same quarters (Trebizond and its environs), and 
among the Greek and Armenian populations, that foreign influence and 
intrigue are most real and active, rendering the Christians hereabouts 
habitually restless, and exciting the suspicions of the Mahometans. And 
should at any time some general manifestation of Turkish ill-will or out- 
break (though of that there is at present no sign) occur, such influence and 
intrigue, and no other, will be the real cause. 

" The complaints of the Christians, here at least, and especially of the 
Greeks, are unjust. They do not aim at equality, which they have got 
already, but at mastery." 



294 



THE CAPITULATIONS. 



Chap. XIX. 



CHAPTEE XIX. 

THE CAPITULATIONS. 

Prejudice of foreign residents — Origin of the Capitulations — Privilege of 
a Greek subject — Codes of law innumerable — Justice defeated — Try 
Turkish tribunals. 

Ask any foreigner resident in Turkey what he thinks of the 
Capitulations, and you will hear a sermon upon the terrible 
maladministration or entire absence of justice amongst the 
Turks and the impossibility of foreigners remaining in 
the country if once their palladium, consular jurisdiction, 
were removed or infringed upon. " As for me," he will tell 
you, "the day that the Zaptiehs of the infidels have the 
power to lay a finger upon me I shall quit Turkey, never to 
return " — which of course would be an immense loss to the 
Ottoman Empire. 

This infatuation in favour of the Capitulations is one of 
the weak points of the foreign colonies established 'in 
Turkey, and, indeed, of all Europeans, who fancy themselves 
so far superior to the Turks in all points, that it would be 
an insult and a degradation for one of their number to 
be judged by a Mussulman tribunal. 

Besides, the abolition of the Capitulations would be natu- 
rally displeasing to the Consuls, who would thereby not 
only lose a good deal of their prestige and influence, but 



Chap. XIX. ORIGIN OF THE CAPITULATIONS. 



295 



also various perquisites and fees to which they attach a 
good deal of importance.* 

If we view the Capitulations and their effects by another 
light than that which niters through the ill-glazed windows 
of an Eastern Consulate, an analysis based upon common 
sense, and not upon national prejudices, will shew the per- 
nicious influence which they exercise over the relations 
between Turkey and other nations, and even upon the 
welfare of foreigners themselves. 

Their origin is comparatively ancient ; when Mahomet II. 
conquered Constantinople he granted an "Aman" or Capitu- 
lation to the G-reeks and Genoese who inhabited his future 
capital, in order to induce the foreign merchants to remain 
in it. Soliman I. granted a Capitulation to the subjects of 
his ally Francois I., and in succeeding reigns the other great 
Powers obtained similar rights of independent jurisdiction 
over those of their subjects residing in Turkey. 

In the times when these were accorded there was a logical 
reason for their existence, since the only laws in force in 
Turkey were those derived from the Koran and its appen- 
dices ; for this reason, there being no civil tribunals in 
existence, the Christian E ayahs were permitted to settle 
their differences and to judge causes amongst themselves; 
but in our days the laws of the Prophet are no longer the 
only ones in Turkey, an entire code has been promulgated, 
and though we may admit that this code is in some points 
defective, and its administration not all that might be desired, 
yet. such justice as is to be obtained in a consular court is 



* British Consuls may be excepted from this charge, their fees having 
been in most instances commuted. 



296 



THE CAPITULATIONS. 



Chap. XIX. 



infinitely more faulty and more feeble in its action than that 
of the worst of the Turkish tribunals. 

One question is, whether or no all the nations to whom 
Capitulations have been granted have themselves good laws 
and a good method of administering justice. 

If the Capitulations were merely an insult to Turkey, 
whom they virtually, but most falsely, accuse of being a 
barbarous country in which justice is unknown, or if they 
were granted only to civilized States possessing laws com- 
patible with justice and a sound morality, the evil would be 
less. 

That Western Europe should enjoy such privileges is 
tolerable, but when Modern Greece obtains the right of 
judging her subjects by such laws as are in force at Athens 
the Capitulations become a premium to dishonesty, and a 
negation of all justice. 

Let us suppose that his Imperial Majesty the Sultan 
thought fit to grant Capitulations to the Emperor of Tim- 
buctoo or the King of Dahomey, and that the jurisdiction of 
these cannibal potentates thereby acquired the force of law 
in Turkey, what would happen ? If a subject or a protSgS of 
either of these Powers indulged his taste for human flesh, if 
Sambo or Chimbo made an African stew of a Kayah Papas, 
or a fat Cadi, the Turkish Government would be as powerless 
against them as it is against a Hellene subject. Even if the 
same gentlemen carried their gastronomical experiments so 
far as to lunch off slices of English or French missionary, all 
that the Consuls of the two greatest Powers in the world 
could do would be to commence a suit against Sambo or 
Chimbo in the respective Consulates of the anthropophagi ; 
and as the laws of Timbuctoo and the Gaboon permit 



Chap. XIX. PRIVILEGE OF A GREEK SUBJECT. 



297 



cannibalism, just as those of Modern Greece tolerate equi- 
vocal speculation, Sambo or Chimbo — in spite of the fact 
that the laws would probably be more strictly interpreted in 
the black Consulate than in the white — could no more be 
punished for the homicide committed than Aristides could 
be made to give up the box which he appropriated by a 
fraud, or Mr. M, to give up the money due to Messrs K. 
Brothers. 

Sambo and Chimbo are fictitious ; but Aristides, and Mr. 
M., and the Hellenes, and the manner in which we have 
described the administration of "justice" in Hellene tri- 
bunals, are all sad realities.* 

We have already given examples of Greek commercial 
morality and the manner in which it is fostered by the 
action of the Capitulations ; such instances could be multi- 
plied almost ad infinitum, but we will select only one more 
from the number. A Mr. E., one of the most honest 
Hellenes in the country, makes a contract with the Varna 
and Kustchuk Kail way Company for 15,000 sleepers ; t like 
all the speculators of this country, he has no capital (or at 
least owns to none) with which to carry out the undertaking, 

and on the strength of his fair reputation, succeeds in 

* 

getting paid in advance^ by the English Company; shortly 
afterwards he announces that 6000 sleepers are procured, 
and agents of the Company are sent to examine them ; they 
arrive, and find a heap of charred and smoking wood. 
Strong suspicions of incendiarism are entertained, and doubts 



* See the Chapter on Oriental Commerce ; and Appendix L. 
f In this case we are unable to guarantee the exactitude of the figures, 
although we can vouch for the accuracy of the main facts. 



298 



THE CAPITULATIONS, 



Chap. XIX- 



raised whether the 6000 sleepers ever existed, but the heap 
of wood is too thoroughly destroyed to allow any decision as 
to its original constituent parts ; the Greek Consulate is 
referred to, but it is found advisable not to proceed in the 
matter, and the Company has to put up with the loss of 
the sum advanced. 

The Capitulations granted to Greece not only ruin Turkey, 
by allowing 200 per cent, to be gained by Hellene merchants 
upon the exports, and a still greater proportion upon the 
taxes of the country, but give them a species of monopoly 
of Eastern commerce, based upon the system of administra- 
tion of justice by the Greek courts and the impossibility of 
other nations altering their code in order to fight the Greeks 
with their own weapons. 

Beading the Greek code, you would naturally think that 
it is worth twenty such as that of the Turks, but you have 
yet to learn the laxity of interpretation of which it is 
capable. A Greek cheats you, you apply to his Consulate, 
which declines to judge the affair, and refers you to Athens, 
where the case is settled on the broad and convenient 
principle that a Greek is never in the wrong as regards a 
foreigner, and you lose your suit ; you appeal, and the 
decision is confirmed, or, if the superior court is intimidated 
by the remonstrances of your minister or charge d'affaires, 
the tribunal adjourns your cause — to the Greek Kalends. 
Hence it follows that no conscientious lawyer will advise you 
to prosecute for fraud, or even for attempted assassination, 
any individual who claims Hellenic nationality or protec- 
tion. 

It would seem easy to avoid these difficulties by trans- 
acting business only with Turkish subjects or your own 



Chap. XIX. 



CODES OF LAW INNUMERABLE. 



299 



countrymen, but besides the impossibility of entirely keeping- 
clear of the ubiquitous Hellene trader there is another 
stumbling-block, which the case of Mr. M., already alluded 
to under its commercial aspect, clearly exemplifies; any 
Kussian, French, Austrian, or other subject can change his 
passport and become a Hellene with the same facility as did 
Mr. M. The Kayahs have their protectorate, and they, as 
well as foreigners, manage to change their nationality oftener 
than their shirts, and with at least equal ease. 

When a French or English subject is forced to abandon 
any attempt at obtaining justice against a Greek, it may be 
imagined how little chance the Turkish subject will have in 
a Hellene court of law ! 

There is a severe quarantine against the plague, and 
Turkey is obliged to conform to sanitary laws ; yet she is 
prevented from patting in force the quarantine of severe 
laws against the moral contagion daily imported from Greece 
to her shores. 

It is impossible for a legitimate commerce to exist, so long 
as the Capitulations prevent justice being done in any case 
where the defendant belongs to that nationality whose 
subjects can do no wrong, and the administration of justice 
is rendered impossible by the facility with which false witness 
is procured and admitted in court. 

Even admitting that all the nationalities which exercise 
the right of independent jurisdiction possess equitable laws 
administered by just and upright judges, how is it possible 
to obtain justice or to engage in business without having 
studied the codes of a dozen different people ? Where can 
we find a Mezzofanti lawyer who has at his fingers' end the 
codes of all nations ; from the hundred volumes of the Kussian 



300 



THE CAPITULATIONS. Chap. XIX. 



ZaJcons to that of San Marino ? This alone is a strong argu- 
ment against the Capitulations, but when we recollect that 
it is owing to them that fraud is the basis of Oriental com- 
merce, that they are but a "legalization" of dishonesty, that 
they permit the open use of false weights and measures, and 
that by their extension to a petty nation whose only strength 
lies in its absence of conscience they have rendered the trade 
of Turkey a Greek monopoly — it is impossible not to wonder 
at their existence being tolerated. 

Even the action of the consular courts of the great Powers 
is tardy and occasionally unjust, and the well-grounded com- 
plaint is made that, whilst a foreigner is sure of obtaining 
justice against a Turkish subject, the Turkish subject is 
always in the wrong when he ventures to go to consular law 
with a foreigner. 

The following is one of the many methods in which the 
Capitulations are made to obstruct the path of justice. 
Three years ago the Pasha of Varna wished to verify the 
weights and measures of the town, and as most of the traders 
are foreign subjects or proteges, he applied to the different 
Consuls for their consent ; with one single exception (that of 
the British Consul) they all refused to permit such an inter- 
ference with commercial privileges, and the Pasha was in 
consequence obliged to abandon the project entirely, as, to 
compel the Turkish subjects to sell by the proper standard, 
whilst authorizing or at least ignoring the frauds practised 
by foreigners, would have been simply to ruin the former and 
still further enrich the latter. 

As regards public order the Capitulations are as hurtful to 
the country as they are in point of their encouragement 
of dishonesty ; we have seen a Consul thrashing the police 



Chap. XIX. 



JUSTICE DEFEATED. 



301 



and exacting excuses from the authorities, profiting by the 
position in which the Capitulations place him to break 
through the laws of the country with impunity;* let us take 
another case. 

A certain Mr. B. enlisted in one of the (Christian) Cossack 
regiments of the Sultan, but finding military life not much 
to his taste, deserted, and escaped to Greece; there he 
married an old woman with a little money, but the discipline 
of matrimony proved as unpleasant as that of the Turkish 
army, and he ran away again, returning to Turkey, a 
country which, owing to foreign laws, &c, is the foster- 
mother of parasitism ; here he contrived to live for some 
time, though without apparent means, but at last, meeting 
with some old comrades of the Cossacks, he was arrested 
as a deserter. His Polish nationality procured him the 
privilege of remaining a prisoner on parole, but this he 
broke, and took refuge in the Greek Consulate, which shel- 
tered him from pursuit until means were found to ship him 
back to Greece. 

If the Capitulations did nothing worse than encourage 
desertion, Turkey would not have much to complain of, for 
the Christian soldiers of the Sultan are few in number, nor 
would their loss be a serious one ; but they promote the 
political disorders and discontent with which Europe re- 
proaches the Ottoman Government, and they prepare the 
way for insurrection and revolt. A foreign Consul in Turkey 
who furnishes arms to the rebels at Crete, or the brigands of 
Thessaly, is inviolable and unapproachable by Turkish law ; 
would a Consul (even an American Consul) who was con- 



* See the Chapter on British Consuls and Consular Keports. 



302 



THE CAPITULATIONS. 



Chap. XIX. 



victed of giving or selling revolvers to Fenians in Ireland 
be allowed to go unpunished ? 

America demands payment from England for the depreda- 
tions committed by the Alabama; dare Turkey send a 
battalion to Greece ? What foreign vessel of war would 
venture to do in Irish waters half what Russian ships did on 
the coast and even in the harbours of Crete ? 

An Englishman who should join the Bourbonist reaction 
in Southern Italy and fall into the hands of the Italian 
authorities, would, notwithstanding his quality of civis 
Romanus, be beyond the reach of official protection from 
England ; in Turkey Russian agents openly preach revolt 
and its accompaniments of murder and pillage ; the Govern- 
ment is well aware of this fact, but owing to the Capitula- 
tions, dare not arrest nor even impede them. 

Two Servians or Wallachians (it matters little which), 
agents of the Revolutionary Committee of Bucharest, come 
to Rustchuk in an Austrian steamer; Mithat Pasha deter- 
mines to arrest them, and obtains from the Austrian Consul 
the necessary permission for the police to board the steamer ; 
the two persons in question resist, wound some of the 
passengers, and are finally shot down by the Zaptiehs, where- 
upon there is an outcry raised against Mithat Pasha and 
Turkey, and the Consul (who in behalf of justice relaxed the 
rigour of the Capitulations) is removed from his post. 

As Turkey has granted Capitulations to Greece, why does 
she not accord them to Servia and Wallachia ? 

Europe is not yet sufficiently logical to abolish this great 
source of evil to Turkey, but at least she might consent to 
the adoption, instead of the dozen now existing, of one 
general and rational code of laws, such as could be easily 



Chap. XIX. 



TRY TURKISH TRIBUNALS. 



303 



understood by the Turks ; for whatever right we' may have 
to think and call Turkey a barbarous country, we certainly 
are not justified in forbidding it ever to enjoy internal peace 
or impartial justice, Strangely enough, those who are 
loudest in their vituperation of Turkish jurisdiction and 
administration of justice, and who impute as a crime the 
rejection of Rayah false witness in a Mussulman tribunal, are 
the very persons who protect with all their power the 
Capitulations, that is, the negation of all justice. 

But even in this plan a local difficulty arises, in the 
choice of judges and juries ; for although the change from a 
multitude of codes to a single one would be an undoubted 
benefit, it is to be feared that if the jury were chosen from 
the divers nationalities which abound in the seaport towns of 
Turkey, such an equivocal constitution would render justice 
but little less Hellenic than it is at present. 

Supposing the Capitulations to be given up, the applica- 
tion of a general and international code by the Turkish 
judges becomes simple, and in the case where a foreigner 
considers himself wronged by an unjust sentence, he appeals 
to Constantinople, his Embassy takes up the matter, the 
cause is judged over again by public opinion, and if the 
Cadi is found to be in the wrong he is in his turn judged by 
the Turkish Government. 

In the days when the Seven Isles were under British 
protection, an English judge at Constantinople, Sir E. EL, 
dismissed ten Ionian witnesses out of eleven in one cause, 
telling them that they were all perjuring themselves ; even 
amongst the English Levantines it would be hard to find a 
jury who would convict a prisoner of forgery or fraud, 
although on the strongest evidence ; and from this fact it 



304 



THE CAPITULATIONS. 



Chap. XIX. 



may be imagined what sort of justice would be administered 
by a jury composed for the most part of genuine Hellenes. 

The only way to establish justice in the East, amongst 
both foreigners and natives, is to call in the aid of the 
justice-loving Mussulman element, and to strengthen its 
hands by the abolition of the Capitulations. 



Chap. XX. 



RUSSIAN AGENTS. 



305 



CHAPTEK XX. 

THE POLICY OF FOREIGN POWERS IN TURKEY, AND ITS 
EFFECTS. 

Russian agents — Russian ecclesiastical intrigue — Mysteries of French 
policy — No-policy of England — Religious equality — Attacks on the 
Ulema — Save me from my friends — Colonel Bobrikoff's scientific 
mission — A thankless task — French civilization — French intervention 
— The day of retribution — Educate the Rayah — Considerations of 
expediency — England's true policy. 

If you have ever spent a day in a Bulgarian house when 
some Saint's Day or other Feast was celebrated — and accord- 
ing to the Greek calendar the chances are about ten thousand 
to one that any day you may choose will be a Feast or a 
Fast — you can hardly help having remarked amongst the 
assembled guests an individual whose costume is more that 
of the town than of the forest, who makes more signs of the 
cross than even the Bulgarians themselves, and whose dialect 
smacks strongly of that Slavonic in which are written the 
canons of the orthodox and imperial religion.* 

He by no means spares the wine, crosses himself twice 
before and twice after each draught, boasting continually 
that he is " an orthodox Christian of the only orthodox and 
imperial Church," and when his potations have loosened his 
tongue, he begins to sing the praises of Bussia, and to dis- 



* In Russia the State religion is qualified as " orthodox and imperial" 
to distinguish it from the Greek at Constantinople, which is merely 
« orthodox." 



X 



306 POLICY OF FOKEIGN POWERS IN TURKEY. Chap. XX. 



member Turkey with the same facility with which he tears 
in pieces the over-boiled fowl he is eating. 

This gentleman is the unaccredited Russian agent, the 
supplement to the still more influential Papas, and his 
mission is to warn the peasants that the time for raising 
the fiery cross of open insurrection is more or less near, 
and to keep them firm in the good resolutions implanted 
by their clergy. 

In Turkey these emissaries have no need to conceal them- 
selves, or to bridle their tongues with even the gentlest 
of snaffles, for there is no fear of their being meddled with 
by the authorities or denounced by the peasants. 

The latter possibility causes them no anxiety, the influence 
of the friends of the Eastern Christians being so strong and 
so widely spread that the Rayah has learned to preserve 
nothing but an outward semblance of fear and respect as 
far as his Mussulman rulers are concerned, whilst he con- 
siders every one that is not an Eastern Christian as neces- 
sarily his enemy, and those of his own creed as his natural 
friends, so that even if denunciation of brigandage enters 
(which it by no means does) into the morals and habits 
of the country, any robber who entered a Rayah cottage and 
made the orthodox number of signs of the cross would be 
safe from betrayal and from pursuit. 

Thanks to the action of that foreign policy of which we 
are about to treat, Christianity in the East is no longer 
merely a religion, it has degenerated into a secret society 
not less dangerous, and but little more scrupulous, than 
Fenianism. 

The Christians of Turkey have this advantage over the 
Fenians that they are openly protected by foreign powers, 



Chap. XX. RUSSIAX ECCLESIASTICAL INTRIGUE. 



307 



and yet the aspirations of the Irish are certainly more 
legitimate than those of* the Rayah, who has no history 
and therefore no fatherland. Englishmen as we are, we 
believe that Ireland, if separated from the British empire, 
would show something better than the abortions produced 
by those States which the coercive force of a " disinterested 
friendship " has severed from Turkey. The Servians were by 
far the best of the Rayahs; and yet Servia has not done 
much for the cause of civilization, or indeed for any cause 
but that of insurrection and Russia. We admire ambition in 
a giant, but we laugh at it in a dwarf ; yet it is the ambition 
of the dwarf which has ruined certain little States w T hich owe 
their existence to the tolerance or docility of Turkey, and 
which indulge in dreams of future greatness whilst they had 
much better be occupied with the organization of their 
country and their finances; it is this ambition which has 
upset the many weak brains which imagine themselves to 
be the leaders and originators of a patriotic movement, 
because more wily conspirators make use of them as tools. 

The Russians have one weak point in common with the 
Chinese, that of being a little too cunning; their brain is 
Slavonic, that is, more fitted to imagine than to calculate, 
and they have in many instances injured themselves whilst 
fancying that they were overreaching their neighbours; of 
their many failures occasioned by this defect perhaps the 
most absurd, as it is the latest, is the s: Bulgarian ecclesiastical 
schism." 

The true Bulgarian — the peasant, not the Bulgarian in 
fancv dress as he is unarmed in Europe — is able, though 
a poor arithmetician, to count up on his fingers that the Papas 
and the Greek clergy cost him about double what he pays 



308 POLICY OF FOREIGN POWERS IN TURKEY. ■ Chap. XX. 



to the Ottoman Government, so that when he was offered a 
chance of getting rid of his real oppressor by the simple 
method of signing (with his mark of course) a petition, and 
not by risking his person amongst rifle-bullets, he was only 
too glad to avail himself of the opportunity. 

This petition was the first shot fired in the war between 
the Bulgarians and the Greek Patriarch of Constantinople, 
and the origin of this movement, like that of many others, 
can easily be traced to the influence of Russia, who, however, 
probably wished and expected a very different result from 
that which has taken place, and is now trying to undo all 
that she has done by effecting a reconciliation between the 
Bulgarians and the Phanar,* which is the more difficult to 
bring about as her agents have preached but too truly and 
too well against the Greek hierarchy and in favour of a 
religious autonomy. The logic of the peasant, whose con- 
clusions are drawn in pounds, shillings, and pence, is too 
much opposed to this reconciliation for the unaccredited 
agents to have an easy task before them. 

We will endeavour to explain the motives of Russia in 
trying thus to counteract a scheme which she had herself 
suggested : she had hoped that when the schism between the 
Greek Church and the Bulgarians was complete, the Turkish 
Government with its ordinary good nature would grant to 
their Christian subjects a Bulgarian, that is, an orthodox 
and imperial patriarchate. But in this expectation she was 
deceived, as the Porte replied that the three existing patri- 



* The seat of the Greek patriarch; the Phanar, outside the walls of 
Constantinople, was the first place granted by the Sultans as an ecclesi- 
astical residence to the patriarchs of the orthodox Church. 



Chap. XX. 



MYSTERIES OF FRENCH POLICY. 



309 



archs (Roman Catholic, Armenian, and Greek) were surely 
enough, and that the Bulgarians had perfect liberty to choose 
any one of the trio as their spiritual head ; an answer which 
may probably have given rise to a report at one time cir- 
culated of an union between the Bulgarians and the Church 
of Borne. It is said that the Greek patriarch has offered as 
a mezzo termine to erect the Vilayet of the Danube (Bulgaria 
proper) into an Archiepiscopal See, dependent upon the 
Phanar, but of which the archbishop shall be a Bulgarian. 
This, however, is not what the people want, their great wish 
being to escape from the licensed pillage of the Greek clergy, 
and to avoid the imposts which the maintenance of the Greek 
patriarch and hierarchy annually imposes upon them. 

We have thus sketched in a few lines the true history of 
the Bulgarian schism, one of the intrigues from which Russia 
hoped much and reaped nothing ; but in spite of its failure 
she will still continue to use for her own purposes the 
Fenianism of Eastern Christianity — one of the most powerful 
levers of agitation in Turkey, since its action is but little 
seen outside this country, or, if seen, is attributed to the 
purest and most laudable motives. 

Russian policy is at least comprehensible, for it has a 
reason for its existence, a definite end to be attained, and 
a coherent action; but who can understand the policy of 
France in Turkey ? Why does she interfere in the affairs 
of the Sublime Porte in such a manner as always to force the 
Turkish Government into " Reforms " which are not only un- 
reasonable, but dangerous to the very existence of the Otto- 
man empire as well as opposed to the true interests of the 
Rayahs ? 

It may be replied, that she is desirous of forming a party 



310 POLICY OF FOREIGN POWERS IN TURKEY. Chap. XX. 



amongst the Christians, but with what object? Can it be 
that of obtaining a certain influence oyer the future cabinet 
of "Byzantium, the capital of a Christian empire ?" 

We can hardly believe the Tuileries to be so foolish as 
to build expectations upon such unstable foundations as the 
gratitude of the Kayah ; and it seems possible to explain 
the action of French policy only by supposing a complete 
ignorance of the state of Turkey and the true character 
of its populations — an ignorance which must embrace the 
diplomatic and consular agents abroad as well as the Foreign 
Office at Paris. 

But this uncomplimentary hypothesis does not satisfac- 
torily account for a policy which, whilst meddling with every- 
thing, is always changing and vacillating, constant only in 
its deleterious effects upon the state of Turkey, political, 
economical, and financial : its mainspring is perhaps to be 
found in an ambition, but an ambition which is as yet but 
vaguely defined, for how otherwise can we attribute any 
motive to the action of France in favour of Servia and 
the Moldo-Wallaehian Provinces ; how explain the unceasing 
stream of Frenchmen, for the most part incapable, who are 
sent (not exactly officially, it is true, but with an under- 
standing that they will be well received) from Paris to 
Stamboul to fill all sorts of posts and to graft the Wall- 
fruit of French civilization upon the Turkish crab-apple? 
What can this motive be, and will it ever be revealed to 
us by the 'Livre Jaune'? We will presently describe the 
effects of this policy as pursued by France, and our readers 
will judge whether it has in any way aided the progress of 
Turkey or of Europe in the path of civilization. 

Upon English policy in Turkey it is impossible to enlarge, 



Chap. XX. 



RELIGIOUS EQUALITY. 



311 



as England has none ; and since her ambassadors at Constan- 
tinople have taken to being afraid of shadows — their own or 
any one else's — the influence formerly possessed by England 
is now hardly even a tradition. Whilst new Knssian am- 
bassadors may be found ready to put on the "Paletot de 
Menckikoff," it seems as if there would be no inheritor of the 
mantle of Lord Stratford de Eedcliffe. Lord Stratford, or 
a man of his stamp, would have prevented such an insur- 
rection as that of Crete, or if he failed in preventing it, 
would have stopped it : a couple of gunboats would have 
blockaded the ports of Greece, and every Eussian vessel of 
war would have been well watched by English ships ; an 
Eden would not have been changed into a desert, and a 
whole people would not have become mendicants. Such 
a policy might have cost a couple of firmly-worded notes 
to Prince GortchakofT, and perhaps even a British garrison 
at the Piraeus, but it would have saved us the expenses of the 
second Eastern war. 

Eussia sows agitation and disorder in the country districts, 
but at present her harvest is reaped in the capital, and as 
it is there that France, leaving the provinces to the other 
speculator upon Ottoman weakness, casts her seed and cuts 
her grain, we will conduct our readers to Stamboul or rather 
to Pera, to estimate the profit made by each of the agricul- 
turists. 

The policy of France, though professedly friendly, is as 
we have said perhaps even more hurtful to Turkey than the 
hostile, almost avowedly hostile, action of Eussia, 

Article IX. of the Treaty of Paris begins by stipulating 
for liberty of conscience (a liberty which existed in Turkey 
long before its benefits were extended to certain countries of 



312 POLICY OF FOREIGN POWERS IN TURKEY. Chap. XX. 



Europe, e. g., Ireland, Scotland, France, &c, and which even 
now does not flourish everywhere (witness Poland) very 
vigorously), and then notifies the intention of the Sultan to 
ameliorate the condition of his subjects " without distinction 
of religion or of race." 

In commenting upon this Article, Russia might have said, 
with her habitual sophistry, that this amelioration could be 
carried out only by the cession of the European provinces 
of Turkey to her, when both Mussulman and Christian would 
gain by coming under the kindly sceptre of the Czar : the 
Treaty of Paris fortunately guaranteed the territorial in- 
tegrity of the Ottoman empire, and therefore France is 
obliged to differ from Russia in such an interpretation of 
Article IX. The way in which it is understood by her 
is however just as prejudicial to Turkey : for siuce it is 
acknowledged by all those who know Turkey thoroughly, 
that if there are subjects of the Sultan who are oppressed, 
they are the Mussulmans (as may be seen from the chapter 
upon the Military Service of the Turk), why does France 
drive the Porte to oppress them still further, and why does 
she exact reforms which must have the effect of some day 
causing a revolution of Mussulmans, which will not only 
be excusable, but necessitated, by the virtual outlawry of 
the Turk? 

It is possible to be the friend of the Eastern Christian, 
but it is scarcely fair to carry this friendship to the extent 
of wishing to ruin an entire nation of Mussulmans, especially 
when the Christian's friend is a party to the Treaty of Paris, 
and is not Russia, but France. 

In our difficult search after an explanation for French 
policy we are then reduced to two hypotheses, one (already 



Chap. XX. 



ATTACKS ON THE ULEMA. 



313 



mentioned) that of complete ignorance of the real state of 
Turkey, the other that France intends to force the Mussul- 
man populations into a revolt against the Sultan. 

The ambition of being the protector of the Eastern Chris- 
tians does not afford a sufficient motive ; for though Kussia 
may well " protect " them in the hope of one clay becoming 
their sovereign, and transforming them, if not into useful 
members of the working community of the world, at least 
into handy tools for her own projects, what could France 
do with all these millions of Eayahs ? And if she does not 
want them, the part she plays is not only deadly to the true 
interests of the country, but is a flagrant absurdity. 

Without speaking of the autonomies which France has 
obtained for Servia, for the Principalities, &c, or of the 
course adopted by her in the affairs of Crete, a sufficient 
proof of the evils arising from her counsels will be found 
in the part she has taken against the Ulema, the great bond, 
moral and religious, of Mahommedanism in Turkey; than 
which nothing can be more calculated to exasperate the 
Mussulmans, who look upon the proposed change as a direct 
attack upon one of the most cherished articles of their 
faith. 

Let us suppose for a moment that the French ambassador 
in London demanded an interview with the Premier, and 
expressed himself after the following manner : — " You must 
acknowledge that these Fenian troubles are weakening the 
prestige if not the power of the country, and that you have 
vainly tried to put an end to them in various ways ; now 
let France, as a friend, strongly advise and counsel you to 
adopt the only remedy which will get you out of your diffi- 
culties, namely, to secularize, or confiscate, all the remaining 



314 POLICY OF FOREIGN POWERS IN TURKEY. Chap. XX. 



property of the Established Church, which will find a suffi- 
cient means of support in the contributions of its zealous mem- 
bers. By this means you will effectually check Fenianisin, 
whose ranks are chiefly recruited from Koman Catholics, and 
England will again enjoy domestic peace, and regain her 
former position amongst the great powers of Europe." 

Of course such language, and such advice from France 
to England, would be considered as an impertinence, whilst 
from France to Turkey it is disinterested friendship of the 
purest kind ; yet such a proposition, per se, would rind many 
supporters and approvers amongst Dissenters and even 
amono-st nominal members of the Church of England : the 
present generation may perhaps even live to see a Bill to 
this effect brought before an ultra-Reformed House of 
Commons. 

In Turkey, however, the case is not entirely a parallel one, 
for the proposal to annihilate the Ulema is most distasteful 
to all classes of the Turks, who are distinguished by attach- 
ment to their religion, and whose faith is not divided by 
such thousand-and-one schisms as agree to differ from the 
State religion of England.* 

Confessing ourselves foiled in our endeavour to find a 
solution to the enigma of French policy, we will again turn 
to its effects in conjunction with that of Russia, in the hope 
of thereby aiding the mental efforts of some diplomatic 
(Edipus. 

The action of Russian policy is to be clearly traced in 



* In Persia there are, it is true, many Mussulmen sectaries, but in the 
Asiatic dominions of the Sultan there are very few, whilst in European 
Turkey (of which we are writing) they are utterly unknown. 



Chap. XX. 



" SAVE ME FROM MY FRIENDS." 



315 



continual agitations amongst the Christian populations, and 
in bribes to some Kurd or Karamanian Beys, which, while 
serving to arm and excite them against their legitimate 
sovereign, explain in some measure the large sum of 3,2G0,00(K 
which by the avowal of Prince GortchakofT the Eastern 
Question costs Kussia under the head of secret service money 
in the East. 

At Constantinople the tactics of Eussia consist in asking 
from Turkey what she knows it is impossible to grant, like a 
skilful fencer who endeavours to embrouiller U jeu of his 
adversary by almost impossible thrusts, profiting by the 
disorder into which the latter is thrown to inflict a wound 
deep enough to make him surrender at discretion, but not 
deep enough to cause death — for Kussia is prevented from 
killing Turkey outright by the presence of the seconds and 
other lookers-on. France steps in as a friend, but she is, to 
say the least, very unskilful, and by no means shows the 
same cunning of fence which she has occasionally exhibited 
on her own account in one or two affairs of honour ; she 
is constantly telling her principal, " Guard your head " when 
the chest is threatened, or " Parry in tierce " against a thrust 
in carte ; sometimes she even says " Let me parry for you," 
and does it so adroitly that she inflicts a wound upon Turkey 
deeper than any from the adversary's sword. 

The duel is enlivened by the attacks of two or three small 
cur dogs who are always to be found at the heels of Eussia, 
and make frantic efforts to bite the legs of Turkey. 

Formerly there was a big English policeman always stand- 
ing by to see fair play, and occasionally his staff came down 
w 7 ith a heavy rap upon the knuckles of Turkey's opponent, or 
even of the disinterested friend, whilst a kick from his heavy 



316 POLICY OF FOREIGN POWERS IN TURKEY. Chap. XX. 



boot sent one of the cur dogs yelping away into a corner. 
Now, however, the policeman, though he is still present, is 
but an inactive if not an uninterested spectator, and the 
Turk is left to his own resources. As a professor of political 
small sword, one at least of the Sultan's Ministers is more 
than a match for any one that can be brought against him, 
little dogs included, but he is so encumbered by the advice 
and useless parries of his second that he occasionally lays 
himself terribly open. 

The old saying, " Preserve me from my friends, 1 will take 
care of my enemies," has never had a more practical applica- 
tion than in the diplomatic duel which is going on in the 
political circles of Constantinople. 

The consequences of these interventions, whether hostile 
or friendly, in the domestic affairs of Turkey are most 
deplorable, for they are the cause of the animosity existing 
between the Mussulman and Christian subjects of the Sultan, 
of the undeveloped state of the moral and material re- 
sources of the country, of the paralysis of its Government, 
of the ruin of its finances, in a word, of the ruin of the 
whole of Turkey.* Their worst effect is, however, one 
which will appear strange when we remember the apparently 
philanthropic intentions of French policy, since it is nothing 
less than checking civilization and hindering its taking root 
in this country : as we continue to study the action of French 
policy we shall see that this deplorable result does ensue 
from it. 



* Although other causes may have contributed to this ruin, such as 
Eastern commerce, the idleness of the Rayah, the Capitulations, the system 
of taxation, &c, yet all these wounds are, if not inflicted, at least kept 
open by the action of this policy. 



Chap. XX, 



A "SCIENTIFIC" MISSION. 



317 



The great question, nominally at least, for which foreign 
powers are struggling at Constantinople is " the amelioration 
of the condition of the Christians ; " yet but little progress is 
made in this direction by intrigues, avowed or un avowed, 
of foreign diplomacy. 

The Russian policy of urging the Christian population to 
covert resistance, if not to open revolt, by its official notes and 
constant demands for new concessions in their favour (whilst 
good care is taken that both the demands and results shall 
be reported throughout the country by its secret agents or 
by such scientific travellers as Colonel Bobrikoff*) has at 



* " La mission que le Gouvernenient Eusse a envoyee en Bulgarie est 
composee comme il suit : le Colonel Bobrikoff, le Capitaine Karatassoff, le 
Capitaine Artamonoff, le Capitaine Escalon, le Capitaine Soltikoff. 

" La Sublime Porte, dont la complaisance est extreme, a attache k cette 
mission trois offieiers d'e'tat major, Saqqui Bey, Faig Bey, et Tefik Bey. 
En outre elle a donne ordre aux autorites des provinces pour faciliter les 
travaux de la mission russe. 

" Les offieiers de cette mission ont parcouru la Bulgarie, la Thrace et une 
partie de la Macedoine, du Danube aux Dardanelles et a Salonique, de 
la Mer Noire k la frontiere de Serbie ; ils ont visite les gorges et les issues 
les moins connues du Ebodope et du Balkan ; ils ont parcouru les vallees, 
se sont informes des ressources de chaque localite, et n'ont pas oublie de 
visiter les convents grecs. 

" II parait qu'ils n'ont pas acheve leurs operations, car ils ont promis de 
revenir. Est-ce en qualite de mission savante ou de mission militaire — 
plus nombreuse?" — ' Courrier d'OrieDt,' Jan. 27, 1868. 

In course of conversation with a Turkish, official upon the subject of this 
mission, we were told, " Mithat Pasha n'est pas si bete, allez : l'escorte 
qu'il a donnee a ces Messieurs n'est tout bonnement que des espions ; " but 
what is the use of spies upon people who are allowed to do as they like 
without check or hindrance? Of what use is a report " that Colonel Bobri- 
koff has taken plans of all the passes of the Balkans, and that Captain 
Karatassoff made a regular Eussian propaganda in every Bulgarian village 
where the mission halted," when the plans go safely to Eussia, when 



318 POLICY OF FOREIGN POWERS IN TURKEY. Chap. XX. 



least no great tendency to produce good feeling between 
Mussulmans and Christians, the latter haying been promised 
such, great benefits from the Protectorate of Eussia that 
they consider the Czar as their best friend, and as subjects 
of the Sultan feel but little devotion or attachment to their 
sovereign. 

How then is it possible, without real tranquillity and 
cordial good feeling between the rulers and the ruled, for 
civilization to spread in Turkey ? 

If Vassili harbours the orthodox brigand, and if he is but 
a lukewarm subject of Turkey, the fault lies with the policy 
of Eussia ; but if Turkey is too weak — we will not say to 
chastise her children when they are disobedient or noisy 
or idle, but — to distribute an even-handed justice, to eradi- 
cate the fraud which is ruining and the dishonesty which 
is killing all legitimate enterprise and draining all the 
available resources of the land, or to establish a logical 
system of government in the country ; if Turkey is too weak 
to do all this, and if the Ministers of the Sultan occupy their 
time in imagining impracticable Utopias, the fault is greatly 
if not exclusively with the French policy of intervention in 
Turkey; and this policy is direct or indirectly the cause 
that a whole country stagnates instead of flourishing, it is 
responsible for rivers of blood shed without the world's 
reaping any benefit from the sacrifice, it is the cause, in 
short, that though Sebastopol has disappeared, the Eastern 
Question still exists. 



Captain Karatassoff is not arrested, and the seed he has been allowed to 
sow, is also allowed to germinate — to be reaped in good time, no doubt ? 
' Quern Deus vult perdere, prius dementat. 5 



Chap. XX. 



A THANKLESS TASK. 



319 



Whilst to France herself the consequences are sufficiently 
sensible — ten men per thousand in every conscription being 
the least that the Eastern Question costs her, and the actual 
state of the agriculture of the corn-producing provinces of 
Turkey keeping the price of the French workman's bread 
above what he would pay if the sublime Porte were well and 
honestly advised, instead of receiving such counsels as are 
every day forced upon it by the French ambassador — Turkey 
suffers still greater and more serious evils. 

The advice of the friend of Turkey has always tended to 
promote changes advantageous only to the Christians, and 
most unfavourable to the Mussulmans ; we will allow that 
the agents of France act from ignorance and not from any 
dishonest or interested motives, but the effect is the same 
whatever may be the cause of the policy which produces it. 
Its first result is, that France appears to be entirely sub- 
servient to Kussia, whose influence in the country districts 
she can never hope to dominate, for the Eayahs (whom we 
have faithfully delineated in their true colours) are suffi- 
ciently ignorant to think and say, "If France helps our 
friend and master the Czar, it is because he has ordered 
France to do so," and of course such an opinion is not likely 
to be weakened by the ubiquitous agents of Russia. 

Secondly, these concessions are demanded for a race which 
is in a position more than favourable for everything but 
work and civilization,* and the reason we have to make these 



* As may be seen in the Chapter upon Military Service, the Eayah, 
instead of paying an average exemption tax of 25 piastres which (counting 
one adult male in every family of five persons for the total of twelve 
millions) brings in sixty millions of piastres (about 540,0007.) should be 
forced to pay a sum of from 500 to 800 piastres, which would be an in- 



320 POLICY OF FOREIGN POWERS IN TURKEY. Chap. XX. 



exceptions is because the Turkish Government has rendered 
the life of the Rayahs too easy, and afforded them too many 
opportunities of indulging in their favourite luxuries of 
idleness and drunkenness, and because the Greek clergy, 
and the Greek religion as they preach and practise it, are 
incompatible with any degree of civilisation worthy of the 
name, serving merely to keep the peasantry in their present 
state of parasitism, and to make them the friends of Turkey's 
enemies as well as a germ of trouble and agitation which 
checks all material progress; while there is yet a worse 
feature of the Greek Church, its elasticity of doctrine in all 
matters of public morality, which is in a great measure the 
cause of the universal want of confidence prevailing in all 
transactions, mercantile or other, throughout the East. 

And why should a never-ending war be waged against all 
the institutions of Islam ? Is it because the Emperor of the 
French occupies the throne of the most Christian and most 
crusading kings of France? "Because," we shall be told, 
" Islamism is incompatible with the march of civilization." 



crease to the Budget of from 1,200,000,000 (twelve hundred millions) to 
],920,000,000 (nineteen hundred and twenty millions) of piastres, or in 
round numbers, 11 to 17| millions of pounds sterling. 

We shall be told that the Aman, or Quarter, granted to the Christians, 
forbids the imposition of such a tax. 

This we deny, but even supposing it to be so, the condition of the Turk 
has been so changed since that Aman was granted and his privileges have 
been so entirely taken from him, that if the Eayah were called upon for 
an annual exemption tax of a thousand piastres, he would still be in a 
better position than is the Mussulman. 

How do Russia, Prussia, and even liberal Austria keep to the stipula- 
tions of the Aman by them granted to Poland? 

They are, however, stronger than Turkey, and have no foreign interven- 
tion to fear. 



Chap. XX. 



FRENCH CIVILIZATION. 



321 



In reply we refer our readers to previous chapters* of this 
book, and we say that our experience leads us to believe 
the Mussulman to be far more susceptible of civilization 
than the Christians of the East, and that as applied to 
Islam ism it will produce results far better than the de- 
fective and warped " civilization " prevailing in those former 
provinces of Turkey which have been granted an auto- 
nomy, or even than that which is thinly spread over the 
surface of the " France of the North," t where it chiefly 
consists in embroidered uniforms, kepis after the latest 
French model, and the deepest and streakiest of mud, 
material and moral.t Such a reform as this will not, how- 
ever, be lightly accepted by the snowy beards and turbans 
of the Ulema. 

It would almost appear as if the civilization of Prefets and 
Sous-Prefets, of the Code Napoleon, and of what Victor 
Hugo calls " la representation du garde champetre," were the 
only form possible in Turkey, since it is this which is so 
unceasingly advocated by the French Ambassador, who yet 
can scarcely be ignorant that at less than eleven hours' 
distance from Paris there lies a city called Loudon, the 
capital of a country in which reigns a civilization far different 
from, but perhaps not inferior to, that of France. 

Germany, too, is regarded as one of the civilized nations 
of Europe, although her civilization is no more based upon 
Christianity than would be that which Turkey, left to 



* Upon the Ulema, the Turks of the Country, &c. 

f A self-attrihuted title, upon which Eussia greatly prides herself. 

% To see both kinds of mud in a superlative degree, travel in "Wallachia. 
Passim during a wild rainy winter, for the material ; passim at any season, 
for the moral. 



322 POLICY OF FOREIGN POWERS IN TURKEY. Chap. XX. 



herself, might, or perhaps even would, adopt with complete 
success. 

Continuing our supposition that France is actuated by 
sound, though inscrutable, reasons of State policy in her 
anxiety to bestow upon Turkey the blessings of a civilization 
not alia Franca but a la Francaise, her manner of paying the 
way to this result is^ at least open to criticism. 

She urges the Turkish Government to grant autonomies to 
States who avail themselves of the gift only to intrigue 
against the giver and to turn their own countries into a 
chaos of disorder and misrule; she compels concessions to 
a population which is neither prepared to benefit by them 3 
nor even fit to receive them ; she seeks to destroy the Ulema 
by the abolition of the Vakouffs, she forces the Porte to fill 
an unlimited number of places created, ad hoe, with French- 
men who are for the most part incapable, and she says to 
Turkey, " You must have railroads, forest rangers, professors 
of logic, of chemistry, of mathematics, a French official 
Turkish newspaper," and a hundred other instruments of 
civilization ; the only effect of this last piece of advice being 
that some scores, or even hundreds, of Frenchmen receive 
enormously high salaries, which are drawn from the slender 
budget of the country, and spent in the cafes of Pera : but 
the railroads are still things of the future ; the roads are not 
traced even on paper ; the forests are still cut and burned 
down by the Eayah, or sold by him to the Greek merchant ; 
the mathematician, who cannot solve a quadratic equation, 
and has not even heard of differential calculus, has not one 
pupil for every hundred pounds of his salary ; the chemist 
occupies himself in the analysis of the ingredients which 
form a Constantinopolitan " Ponche a V Anglaise ;" and the 



Chap. XX. 



FRENCH INTERVENTION. 



323 



logician wonders from what premisses Turkey can have 
drawn the conclusion to be so yielding as she is. 

We have already said that Turkey is distressed, that she 
is in a state of disorder almost impossible to imagine, and all 
this in spite of, or rather owing to, the mania which has 
seized upon France for urging her to " reforms " as absurd as 
they are ill-timed. Is the " sick man " any the better for the 
large doses of reform pills which he swallows with so much 
resignation ? 

A Turk arms himself with a thick stick, and administers a 
sound thrashing to a Eayah, or to a merchant whose primi- 
tive nationality is lost in the mists of many consulates, but 
who has finally obtained French protection. The story is 
published in the Constantinople newspapers, and the Russian 
Ambassador goes to the Porte ; he adopts a tone a little 
too menacing and obtains no " redress," so he calls upon the 
French envoy, and with an ironical smile and a shrug of 
the shoulders suggests to his " cher colTegue " a private inter- 
vention in the matter, adding " You see now what a nice set 
of fellows these Turks are that you are so bent upon 
civilizing." The French Ambassador feels that the credit of 
France is at stake, for he has just learnt that the Rayah is 
a Catholic, or the merchant an Armenian, so he hastens to 
the grand Vizier, says the rudest things to him in the 
politest manner possible, and throws in his face the old, 
old story of that Crimean campaign, in which England 
took a sufficiently prominent part, but which every French- 
man tries to prove to the world in general, and Turkey 
in particular, was carried on by France alone, who suc- 
ceeded in beating the Russians, notwithstanding the chain 
tied to her feet by the presence of the British army, or 

Y 2 



324 POLICY OF FOREIGN POWERS IN TURKEY. Chap. XX. 



rather contingent, which did nothing but impede the move- 
ments of her forces. 

The result of this representation is that a Commission is 
sent to the spot from Constantinople with orders to punish 
the Turk in question, and all that is Turkish in the affair. 

The Turkish Minister knows that he is committing an 
injustice; the Commission knows beforehand that it will be 
forced to act without regard to law or evidence ; but the 
repose of the Cabinet is at stake, and so the Turk goes to 
Wzdin* for seven years, and the Pasha of the district loses 
his place — a couple of sacrifices to French policy. 

There is, however, a true version of the affair, which the 
Commission will not report ; or if it does find courage to do 
so, no newspaper in Constantinople will publish it. The Turk 
has been robbed of his last pair of buffaloes by the Eayah, 
or cheated out of his poor savings by the merchant ; he ha< 
complained to the Pasha, and been told that orders had 
come from Stambonl to treat the Eayahs with all possible 
lenity, and that political reasons forbid the punishment of 
the thief. The Turk who feels that this " policy ''' strips him 
every day of a right or a privilege, that it is abusing his 
nationality and attacking his religion, that it not only 
despoils but insults the Mussulman f — thinks he has had 
enough of this patriotic policy, and says to a friend, " Look 
here, I suppose I shall go to Widin for it, but at any rate 
the Giaour shall have what he deserves," and as he has failed 
in obtaining justice at its source he takes the law into his 
own hands. 

* YYidin, on the Danube, is a sort of Turkish Spite Island, 
f Vide Chapters upon the Military Service of the Turk, the Ileal Position 
of the Eayah, &c. &c. 



Chap. XX. 



THE DAY OF RETRIBUTION. 



325 



In an English poMce court he would probably Lave been 
sentenced to pay a fine between five shillings and five 
pounds; but in Turkey foreign policy interferes, and he 
gets seven years' penal servitude ; but by those of his own 
faith he is regarded as a martyr. 

The Eayah rejoices, and prays still more fervently for his 
patron the Czar; the French Ambassador is delighted at 
the " victory " he has gained over the Kussian, who smiles the 
smile of Kussian diplomacy as he congratulates his colleague 
upon his " great influence with the Sublime Porte," and is 
secretly perfectly contented with the real advantage which 
he has obtained. 

Meanwhile, the Turkish Minister is not quite so well 
pleased, and calculates how long this state of affairs can go 
on, consoling himself with the reflection that he is clever 
enough to make it last out his time, and quoting — for he is 
a good French scholar, and well up in the sayings of 
eminent Frenchmen — 

" Apres moi le Deluge," 
and by the next time he meets his enemy and his i( disin- 
terested friend" at a grand dinner which he gives to the 
corps diplomatique on the anniversary of the accession of 
H.M. Abdul Aziz, he has quite recovered his usual equa- 
nimity, and greets both of them with the most charming 
cordiality. 

At Stamboul the affair is finished, for the moment ; in the 
country, however, it is not so, and the looks of the Turks 
are darker when they meet the Eayahs, who tremblingly 
hope that the day is near — that is, the day of retribution, 
which when it comes will be far different from that expected 
by the Christian. 



326 POLICY OF FOREIGN POWERS IN TURKEY. Chap. XX. 



The Turkish cup of endurance will one day overflow, and 
it is the Ambassador of France who will pour in the last 
drops, and who, perhaps unknowingly, has cast a bullet 
whose shrill whistle will sooner or later mingle its voice with 
the debates upon the Eastern Question, since it is his in- 
fluence which is rapidly tending to drive the Mussulmans 
into a war of retribution, such a war as they believe to be 
foretold in the Koran, " When blood shall flow higher than 
your knees, when the infidels shall unite against you and 
strive to crush you ; but to every believer shall be given the 
strength of ten men." * 

We believe that Eussian diplomatists are clever enough 
and sufficiently well informed as to the real state of the 
country districts to foresee, and even to wish for such an 
event. Poland has steeled the nerves of Alexander II., 
and he would not shudder at being called upon to reign 
over a desert, though that desert were still reeking with 
Christian as well as Mussulman blood; it is even possible 
that the scheme may be premeditated, for Turks who 
rose against their Christian oppressors could as little ex- 
pect sympathy from Europe as the Turk who struck the 
Eayah could obtain justice from foreign intervention in his 
country. 

As Eussia numbers amongst her generals a Suvoroff and a 
Muravieff, it is not impossible that she should possess diplo- 
matists who wish for nothing more than to see the road to 
Constantinople paved with corpses, whether Christian or 



* This verse was quoted to us lately by a Turkish peasant, in speaking 
of such an eventuality as we have mentioned; the words are given from 
memory, and possibly are inexact, but the sense remains the same. 



Chap. XX. 



A NAVVY'S VERDICT. 



327 



Mussulman, provided that the Czar's entry into- Stamboul 
would be facilitated thereby ; but such an eventuality can 
hardly be contemplated in cold blood by France, who though 
she may blush for a Pelissier, can never boast of a Muravieff, 
and it is the conviction of this impossibility which throws us 
back upon our first hypothesis of utter ignorance as the 
reason of the policy pursued by the French Ambassador, 
which must finally result in one of two misfortunes, either 
an armed invasion by Eussia, or a revolution of the Turks 
against their Government, preceded or followed by a massacre 
of the Christians. 

Very many well-meaning people will say, that if the 
civilization of Turkey cannot be effected without causing a 
Christian massacre it would be much better to let Eussia 
have her way, and even to assist her as much as possible ; 
but those who may hold this opinion do not reflect that even 
in their alternative or pis aller a slaughter is involved, for 
Turkey will never succumb to Eussia until hundreds of 
thousands of Turks have fallen " with their feet to the foe." 
It is a suggestion which may lay us open to the suspicion of 
being more Mussulman than Christian, but we nevertheless 
hazard the question, Which could the world spare best, the 
Eayah or the Turk ? 

An English navvy working on a railroad in this country 
once said to us, " As far as I can make out, the Turks are the 
only Christians here," and his experience amongst a certain 
class of both races had been pretty large. The Turk of the 
country is usually remarkable by his honesty, sobriety, and 
charity, three virtues which are supposed to be extensively 
cultivated by the genuine Christian ; whilst the Eayah has 
only learnt from his clergy theft, drunkenness, idleness, and 



328 POLICY OF FOREIGN POWERS IN TURKEY. Chap. XX. 



disloyalty to his sovereign. Which of the two, to repeat the 
Bull of the English navvy, is in reality the best Christian ? 
And if such a fearful calamity as an extermination of one 
race or the other is to take place, which of the two will be 
the greater loss ? 

The deplorable necessity for a choice between these an- 
tagonistic peoples is, however, not like to occur, for twenty 
millions of Turks, baekel by one hundred millions of Mussul- 
mans, cannot be got rid of with the same facility as the 
remonstrances of the Burgesses of the ex-free city of Frank- 
fort; and if the standard of Mahomet be once raised, the 
armies of Europe would find themselves no over-match for 
the myriads who would assemble under its folds. 

Even European discipline, and Dreyse, Snyder, or Chasse- 
pot rifles may fail before the faith or the valour of Mahom- 
medans who are fighting for their homes, for their religion, 
for their very existence as a people, and who in the 19th 
century have still the same strength of belief which our 
forefathers had in the 12th, when the chain armour of the 
knights of Europe was found not to be proof against the 
Asiatic scimetar, and when the chivalry of the West was 
forced to recoil before the fanaticism of the East, a fanaticism 
which even now is not extinct, and needs but an appeal such 
as the sight of the Oriflamme of Islam to awaken it* into 
undiminished vigour. 

But, thank Heaven! the signal for such a shock of arms 
has not yet been given, and the Turkish peasant is anxious 
for even a greater amount of real civilization than it would 
be yet expedient to bestow upon the Kayah, who for his part 
does not wish for it at all ; and if France really desires the 
civilization of the East she has but to aid in curing those 



Chap. XX. 



EDUCATE THE RAYAH. 



329 



diseases and maladies which are now slowly consuming the 
vitals of Turkey. 

Injustice being incompatible with civilization, let the efforts 
of French policy tend to restore to the Turkish Government 
sufficient strength, moral and material, to enable it to redress 
the crying wrong of the present system of exempting the 
Eayahs from military service, either by forcing them to serve 
like the Mussulman, or by making the tax they pay for 
exemption proportionate to the loss of time and labour 
sustained by the soldier. 

Let France prove, clearly and officially, to the Govern- 
ment of the Sultan the ruinous absurlity of the present 
system of taxation. 

In spite of Eussia let the clergy, Greek or Armenian, be 
forced to preach a moral doctrine which shall not be incom- 
patible with the existence of a civilized society or with the 
incontestable rights of property, which is but another name 
for labour capitalized ; although in Turkey, thanks to the 
Kayah clergy, that most absurd axiom of communism "La 
propriete c'est le vol" would be almost a desiderandum, since 
at present it is inverted, and here " Le vol cest la propriete." 

Might not Turkey, with the aid of France, crush under her 
heel the hydra head of Eastern commerce, and even annul 
the Capitulations, or at least modify them in such a manner 
that they should not interfere with the very existence of 
justice ? 

Why not found Government schools for the Kayah — not at 
Constantinople, for would-be apothecaries or Dragomans to 
some foreign Consul, but in the country villages, for the 
Bulgarian peasant ? 

The Kayah is but a child — a naughty child it is true, but 



330 POLICY OF FOREIGN POWERS IN TURKEY. Chap. XX. 



the fault is not so much with him as with his Eussian 
guardian and his tutor the Greek Papas ; educate him, and 
you may yet make a man of him, not without a good deal 
of trouble certainly, but when he is a man he may contribute 
greatly to the welfare of the East, and the experiment is 
worth its cost. But his education must not be after the 
system of the Eussian agent, who teaches him to hate 
the Sultan ; nor after that of the Papas, who tells him that 
" to rob or cheat a Mussulman is no sin ;" * nor even after 
that of the good-natured Turkish Government, which allows 
him to waste his time in dancing, drinking, and idleness ; 
he must be taught by the aid of the ferule of impartial 
justice that the duty of man is to be honest and to labour, 
and that he who offends against this law is punishable by 
society. 

If the French Ambassador would take the pains to study 
Turkey and to learn its real condition (not such as it is 
described by some hostile powers), he would find questions 
enough to occupy him without taking up those which are 
already worn out, or which Eussia has appropriated to 
herself. 

Whilst in studying the Eayah, we have, alas! got no 
further than the A B 0 of civilization, with the Turks it 
is far different ; for amongst them civilization will find a con- 
genial soil in which to take root and flourish, provided that 
the noxious foreign weeds which choke its growth be 
removed once and for all. To civilize Turkey it is first neces- 
sary to establish justice, and to strengthen her hands so that 



* Fact : the Papas, if interrogated by one of his flock in such a case of 
conscience, almost alwaj^s replies in the above words. 



Chap. XX. CONSIDERATIONS OF EXPEDIENCY. 



331 



she may no longer fear the culprit she is called upon to 
judge. 

Our Standpunkt in criticizing the action of Prance has 
hitherto been more or less that of morality: let us now 
descend to that of expediency, and ceasing to reiterate that 
it is neither just nor honourable to force upon the Porte 
reforms whose consequences will be the dismemberment of 
the Ottoman empire and a massacre of the Christians, or a 
war whose disastrous effects will be felt throughout the world, 
let us affirm that the ruin of Turkey is against the interests 
of all civilized nations. 

Who, or what is to replace the Mussulman dominion at 
Constantinople, is a point upon which it is unnecessary for 
us to enlarge, as it has already been discussed by the Due 
de Yalmy in a pamphlet, which, since it succeeded in pene- 
trating even to our cottage in the Balkans, has doubtless 
found many readers in England : but there is another 
question which by right should precede this — 

Who is able to drive the Turks from Europe ? 

We have already said that though the Turkish Govern- 
ment is feeble, the Turks themselves are a warlike and 
determined race, and that they will die sooner than sur- 
render the country which has belonged to them for nearly 
five centuries ; the struggle will be a hard one, but if a man 
of energy, for genius is not necessary, attain during this 
crisis to the Vizierate, he will summon the whole of Islam 
to the aid of Turkey, and such a reinforcement may do more 
than turn the scale in favour of the Padischah. But what- 
ever may be the final issue of the conflict, the Christians of 
the East will assuredly be its first victims, and in what will 
these changes or troubles or massacres benefit Europe ? 



332 POLICY OF FOREIGN POWERS IN TURKEY. Chap. XX. 



Surely the slight political advantage of having a little more 
influence than one's neighbour with the Turkish Cabinet, or 
the petty vanity of being considered as protector or civilizer, 
is not such as to counterbalance the real relief of awaking 
for good and all from that nightmare of Europe, the Eastern 
Question, or the real benefit of enabling a whole country 
to enjoy the blessings of a well-founded and permanent 
peace, and to produce its proper proportion of the raw 
products required by the industry of Europe, and of the 
food necessary for her support. Yet this end could be 
attained with less trouble than is required for one of the 
innumerable little "victories" which one ambassador gains 
over another by taking advantage of the intestine troubles 
and misfortunes of Turkey. 

As, however, no steps are taken for the attainment of 
such a result, it would almost appear as if Europe con- 
sidered that the Eastern Question is a seton necessary for 
the general health of the corps diplomatique, or as if her am- 
bassadors acted like some unworthy physicians, who retard 
an easy cure that they may the longer profit by the fees 
which they daily extract from the pocket of their patient. 

Assist Turkey to reform her defective organization, to heal 
her economical and social wounds, to burn out the cancer of 
parasitism, and whilst doing so keep Kussia in her proper 
position, without threatening, but without suffering her to 
threaten. 

Minor ambitions are more easily checked, though one 
or two of them might require a couple of English battalions 
at the Piraeus, a regiment or two of Austrians at Belgrade, 
and an envoy extraordinary at Bucharest. Such " interven- 
tion" would do more good to the States in question by 



Chap. XX. 



ENGLAND'S TRUE POLICY. 



333 



checking brigandage in the neighbourhood of their capitals, 
and by the inevitable expenditure of sovereigns, napoleons, 
and ducats, than has been effected by any one of their 
numerous cabinets upon which the changes have of late 
been so frequently rung : and the armies of occupation 
on their departure would be as cordially regretted by the 
people 'as are the former garrisons of Corfu and Zante- by 
the inhabitants of the Seven Isles. 

As for the Christian subjects of the Sultan, help their 
Government to make them into men, undeterred by the fear 
that, if Eussia makes a demand for new concessions in their 
favour to which you do not adhere, they will become your 
enemies ; for their hostility to you exists already and cannot 
easily be increased. 

If General Ignatieff urges upon the Porte fresh concessions 
to the Kayah, if Fuad Pasha communicates these demands to 
the Ambassadors of England and France, if the former 
answers that he has telegraphed orders to Gibraltar that 
the day on which these demands are reiterated every Kussian 
ship of war in the Mediterranean will be taken or sunk, if 
the latter adds that the corps oVarmee now at Toulon and 
Lyons have received instructions to hold themselves in readi- 
ness; if the Eussian Ambassador then seeks an interview 
with his two colleagues, and insists upon the necessity for 
these concessions, accusing England and France of acting 
against the interests of civilization, might not Fuad Pasha 
reply in the pithy phrase of Prince GortchakofY about 
Poland, " Le charbonnier est maitre chez lui " ? 

Might not the Sultan have answered the collective note 
of the Four Powers relative to the insurrection in Crete, as 
Alexander II. replied to the notes addressed to Eussia in 



334: POLICY OF FOREIGN POWERS IN TURKEY. Chap. XX. 



1863 relative to the affairs of Poland, by sending a Mura- 
vieff to desolate the island with famine, fire, and sword 
instead of an Ali Pasha to propose snch terms as the follow- 
ing : — " Perpetual exemption from military service, and from 
the tax upon the salt and tobacco produced by the island ; 
exemption for two years from the tax upon wine and from 
the tithe of produce ; for the two subsequent years the tithe 
to be reduced from 10 to 5 per cent., and the revenue there- 
from accruing to be applied to the indemnification of the 
losses caused by the insurrection"? And yet these terms 
are not considered by the island as sufficiently liberal ! We 
would recommend some patriotic Irish Member of the House 
of Commons to propose an equally munificent donation as a 
sop to the Celtic Cerberus who, less greedy than his con- 
gener of Crete, would be only too glad to accept it. 

The action of English policy in Turkey, of late years, 
cannot certainly be blamed ; 

u Fiorenza mia, hen puoi esser contenta 
Di questa digression clie non ti tocba " — 

it is its inaction which is culpable, and if France hurries 
Turkey into an abyss of misery and blood, if Eetribution is 
allowed to take the form of Massacre, surely the conscience 
of England will not be silent. Had our country the same 
influence in the East which she formerly possessed, and 
which was based upon the firm carrying out of a clear- 
sighted and equitable policy, this chapter would not have 
been filled with protestations against the evil influences of 
the enemy and the disinterested friend of Turkey. If Eng- 
land stands by in apathy whilst a nation is being murdered, 
she is surely particeps criminis, and it will little avail her 
in the judgment of posterity that she may have turned 



Chap. XX. 



ENGLAND'S TRUE POLTCY. 



335 



informer, and that her voice is the loudest in the outcry 
against her accomplices. 

Let her adopt at Constantinople not the policy of non- 
intervention fashionable in the West, but a policy of action, 
such action as, while it serves Turkey, will benefit the true 
interests of civilization throughout the world : she herself 
will be no loser by the change. 



336 



MILITARY RESOURCES OF TURKEY. Chap. XXL 



CHAPTER XXL 

THE ARMY AND THE MILITARY RESOURCES OF TURKEY. 

Born soldiers — Exploits in the last war — English generalship and com- 
missariat at Balaklava — French uniforms — Onerous service of the 
militia — Organize volunteers — Expense of the militia — Requisites for 
volunteers and estimated expense — Christian non-combatant corps. 

Amongst all the mis-used or totally neglected resources of 
Turkey there is none greater than her military force ; of her 
thirty-five millions of subjects at least twenty-five millions 
are Mussulmans, and of these fifteen millions are Turks, 
leaving out of consideration Egyptians and Arabs; these 
fifteen millions, counting the family at five persons, give the 
number of three million adult males, that is to say, as all 
who know Turkey will allow, three millions of warriors. 

France with her utmost efforts has not succeeded in raising 
an army of more than 800,000 men from a population of 
thirty-five millions, but the Turk is not a Frenchman any 
more than France is Turkey. Even in the event of a hostile 
invasion of France, that country could not afford to abandon 
her industry, and if one adult out of ten joined the army 
it would be as much as could be expected, for after all a 
war of invasion in France would not threaten the lives of 
all Frenchmen, whilst in Turkey every step of the enemy 
would be a step towards the political and social — even 
towards the physical — extirpation of the Osmanli race, and 



Chap. XXI. 



BOEN SOLDIEKS. 



337 



the Turks, well knowing- this, are resolved in such, a case to 
conquer or to die fighting. 

The conscripts of Europe, moreover, require certain mili- 
tary instruction before the civilian can be changed into a 
soldier, whilst the un weaned Turkish child is just as much 
a soldier as the Prussian veteran; it is only the military 
system at present in force which neutralizes the instincts 
of the Turk, blunts his courage, and does its best to turn 
him into a worthless soldier. If Turkey were threatened 
with invasion, and the Sultan preferred a serious war to a 
treaty of Kainardji, he would have but to raise the standard 
of Mahomet, and (even supposing that the whole of Islam 
did not flock to the banner of the faith) the three millions 
of Turks, from the boy of sixteen to the old man of eighty, 
would unanimously rise against the enemy. Allowing that 
of these one half were retained for garrison duty, and 
that only 1,500,000 strong and vigorous men formed the 
active army, what power in Europe could raise such a force 
and such soldiers ? 

There is the difference of weapons: but the mail-clad 
chivalry of Europe were often repulsed by the Turkish 
light troops, the Akindjis, who wore no defensive armour — 
courage supplied the place of weapons; yet in the 19th 
century an army which loses in one battle five per cent, of 
its number considers itself as irremediably beaten, whereas 
in the good old times fifty per cent, of killed was but an 
ordinary " butcher's bill," and the battle though lost for the 
day was recommenced on the next. What would become 
of the 800,000 soldiers of Kussia if opposed to only one 
third of the possible army of Turkey, that is, 500,000 men, 
even supposing the Russians to be armed with breech- 

z 



338 



MILITARY RESOURCES OF TURKEY. Chap. XXI. 



loading rifles and the Turks only with their knives ? The 
Polish scythemen have shown the military weakness of 
Eussia and the small value to be set upon her troops, as well 
as the superiority of courage over weapons ; although the 
inaction of our forces before Sebastopol raised the damaged 
prestige of the Eussian army, the Polish campaigns of 1863 
demonstrated that the Russian's proper trade is not that of 
soldiering. 

Unhappily for Turkey and the civilized world, there is not 
a Yizier who has the courage to appeal to the valour of the 
people ; but should Eussia again attempt an invasion, the 
Turks are resolved to act without, or in spite of, their Yizier. 

As for the organization and military instruction of these 
Levees en masse, the routine so necessary to transform the 
peace-loving citizen of Europe into a soldier, a legalized 
assassin, an amateur of danger and slaughter, is but little 
required by the Turkish peasant, and 500 villagers of the 
Balkan, armed with their own quaint old rifles, are worth 
more than 2000 Turkish regulars with the latest invention 
in breech-loaders, an anomaly which is caused by the faulty 
system on which the Turkish army is organized. And yet 
this army is not to be despised; the most brilliant actions of 
the campaign of 1853-1854 were certainly those fought by 
the Turks, and the battles of Oltenitza and Ealafat, the 
defences of Ears, Silistria, and Eupatoria, are well worth 
Alma, Inkerman, Balaklava, and the indecisive siege of 
Sebastopol. If we recollect, too, that the Turkish soldiers 
fought without being led by their officers — that the heroes of 
Ears and Oltenitza were badly armed, unpaid, and dying 
of hunger — we must allow that the glory of having broken 
the power of Eussia should be at least equally shared 



Chap. XXI. 



BALAKLAVA. 



339 



between the Turkish army on one side, and the united forces 
of the two greatest nations of Europe on the other. 

Our forces landed at Varna when the strength of Eussia 
was already weakened, even broken, and we profited by the 
victories of the Turks to claim the glory for ourselves; 
because the Turkish soldier did not complain of the misery 
he was suffering, we called him apathetic, and said he was 
incapable of energy ; yet those who saw the same soldiers at 
Eupatoria had reason to alter their opinion. 

An unpractical general abandoned in some field-works, 
barely traced out, four batallions of Turkish Kediff, at a 
distance of more than a league from the nearest assistance, 
and because they retired before the corps of Liprandi, 40,000 
strong, we not only laughed at the Turkish soldier, we 
insulted him. The Ottoman Brigade encamped near the 
hill of Balaklava was dying of hunger; it was attached to 
the English army, and provisions were supplied to it — but 
what provisions ? Barrels of salt pork. Not only were the 
Mussulmans thus insulted, but the affair was laughed at as 
" a capital joke " played upon these starving men, and every- 
body wondered at their " stupidity " in not eating good pork. 
The facetious commissariat officer who was the author of this 
excellent jest ought to have been hanged for murder, for his 
amusement cost the lives of 400 brave soldiers, who preferred 
death to violation of a precept of their religion.* 

A couple of volumes such as this would not be enough for 
a detailed account of all the absurdities in the organization 
and military instruction and institutions of Turkey, so we 
shall content ourselves with studying this all-important 



* Of this fact I was an eye witness — S. Gr. B. St. Clair. 

z 2 



340 



MILITARY RESOURCES OF TURKEY. Chap. XXI. 



question only from the political point of view of military 
strength, touching merely upon such details as are necessary 
to convey a popular idea of the latent and unemployed 
force of Turkey, as compared with the amount of resources 
utilized. 

The war budget of Turkey is very small, certainly smaller 
than that of any power in Europe, although she is more 
menaced than any other country, and has more need of a 
large army. This budget, small as it is, is distributed in 
the most foolish manner, for whilst the pay of a Turkish 
general or colonel is far better than that of English officers 
of the same rank, the Turkish officers of inferior rank and 
the non-commissioned officers and men receive almost 
nothing. 

The arms* and musketry instruction are very bad, but 
the clothing and equipment reach the climax ; in 1854 they 
wore short jackets, which protected them neither from heat 
nor cold, narrow trousers of rotten cloth, eminehs or slippers, 
in which they could not walk, and which they generally 
carried on the points of their bayonets, and a fez ; even then 
the whole uniform was a species of parody of those of 
Europe, but now it is still more ludicrous and less comfort- 
able. The Frenchman dearly loves a disguise, and just as 
in Paris you may see a number of individuals dressed up 
as Arabs or Moors, who cannot tell the difference between an 
Alif and a Be, and who have probably never even spent a 
night at Algiers, so some regiments were clothed in a mas- 
querade of Eastern costume ; and as this uniform was borne 



* Within the last few weeks the Turkish Government has commenced 
serving out breech-loading rifles (converted) to the army. 



Chap. XXL 



FRENCH UNIFORMS. 



341 



by brave men who ennobled it on the battle-field,- the fancy 
dress of the Zouaves came to be regarded in France and 
Europe as the outward sign of an esprit de corps. But what 
traditions of glory or what feelings of pride does this uniform 
inspire in the bosom of the Turks ? For them it is a mere 
parody of their national dress, and that is all ; yet the 
Turkish soldiers have been dressed in Zouave uniform — no 
doubt for the pleasure of# French tourists in Constantinople. 
Fancy an Englishman copying the costume of "Lord 
Williams Tobi, ein reisender Englander" from some German 
comedy played at a minor theatre of Vienna ! The case is 
very nearly a parallel one. 

When the Turkish recruit compares his own comfortable 
trousers of good home-spun cloth to the ill-shaped knicker- 
bockers of the Zouave, which the latter threw off so gladly 
at Palestro, and resumed so unwillingly at Milan ; * his 
Miltan\ to the useless waistcoat; his turban, which is proof 
against heat and cold, and even against a sabre cut, to the 
theatrical red rag which replaces it; and lastly his charreks 
and sarhas % (the best covering in the world for the foot of a 
soldier, as they can be replaced whenever a horse or an ox 
is killed, can be made by the soldier himself in five minutes, 
and neither hurt the foot nor cost a farthing), to the ammu- 
nition boots which pinch him, and the gaiter which takes five 
minutes to put on — what does he think of the Padischah's 



* At Palestro the Zouaves found their knickerbockers so uncomfortable 
for fighting that they took them off, and it was not till some weeks after- 
wards that they could be induced to resume them. 

$ A kind of doublet, in shape like that worn by the knights of the 
Middle Ages. 

% Rolls of thick flannel, in which the foot and ancle are swathed. 



342 



MILITARY RESOURCES OF TURKEY. Chap. XXL 



uniform, which is delivered by contract, ready made from 
rotten materials which will fall to pieces in two or three 
months ? 

Bnt even the inconvenience and discomfort of the Zouave 
uniform is not its greatest evil, for whatever imposing effects 
it may produce in the Place Yendome or the Champs de 
Mars, it has none at Constantinople, and the Turkish soldier, 
seeing in it only a mockery of his national dress, considers it 
as an insult to his nationality. 

Both the drill and the military instruction are foreign, 
and, being neither national nor suited to the nation, are worse 
than useless; for whilst they endeavour to form the Turk, 
who is born a soldier, upon the model of European troops, 
these two powerful levers of military organization succeed 
only in making of the Turkish line soldiers inferior on the 
field of battle to the undisciplined and uninstructed Turk of 
the mountains. 

After the battle of Preston Pans, the English copied from 
the Scotch their immobility under fire, their destructive 
volleys and their irresistible charge, because the Scotch 
would never have learned the file firing a la Frederick the 
Great of the English army ; this system has been abandoned 
within our time, and our army is not so good as it was fifty 
years ago. In Turkey they copy Europe, who was always 
beaten by the Turks when the respective forces were at all 
equal, and when money did not win the battles ; what is the 
consequence of this imitation we have already said. 

The organization of the army and its reserves is also 
imitated from Europe, the Eediff being merely a Turkish 
Landwehr, and, like all exotics transported into a climate 
unsuited for them, producing no good fruits. The soldier who 



Chap. XXL HARDSHIPS OF THE REDIFF. 



343 



has served five years enters the Bediff, returns to "his village, 
marries, and farms his land, merging the soldier in the 
agriculturist, forgetting the intricate manoeuvres which 
astonished the loungers, and which he learned with so much 
difficulty after five years of drill, and thinking only of his 
farm and his duty towards his family ; but at the moment 
that his fields begin to look green, a Zaptieh arrives, and 
brings him the order to report himself at Shoumla and to 
rejoin the army. 

If the Turkish soldier of the Bediff were summoned from 
his family when the first Muscovite cannon proclaimed that 
the soil of Islam was sullied by the foot of the invader, when 
the light of burning Turkish homesteads reminded him that 
before he became a father he was the son of his country, 
and that the Houris of Paradise have a stronger claim upon 
him than the caresses of his wife, he would abandon the axe 
and the plough for the rifle and sword, and with a heart warm 
with patriotic fire, dry the tears of his wife, and teach his 
young son to long for the day when he, too, shall be strong 
enough to fight against the enemies of Turkey. 

But when the peasant is called from his home, his farm, 
from all that he loves, to be dressed up like a baboon at a 
fair, to execute manoeuvres fatiguing in time of peace, and 
impossible in war, to saunter through the streets of a town 
where for months he is the dupe of every petty Greek 
shopkeeper — and all to facilitate a political combination — it 
is hard, and worse than hard, it is demoralizing. 

The morale of an army is a great capital which cannot be 
purchased with gold ; in Turkey no attention is paid to it, 
and it shares the common fate of all the riches of the empire, 
neglect. But imagine the difference of feeling between the 



344 MILITARY RESOURCES OF TURKEY. Chap. XXI. 

peasant who goes to drive the invader from his native soil, 
and the one who is torn from his family to idle at Shoumla 
or Scutari. 

" But," say objectors, " time is necessary for mobilization, 
and to remind the Kediff of its duties and habits as soldiers ; 
was it not want of time to mobilize, equip, and arm its forces, 
which caused the reverses of the Germanic Confederation?" 
Plausible as this argument may at first sight appear, it is 
used only by soldiers who have no knowledge of the raw 
material of the Ottoman army, who belong to that school of 
officers whom Turkey has unwisely chosen to instruct her 
troops in European discipline, and whose ideas of the Turkish 
peasant, whom they seek to grind into a soldier in the mill of 
a foreign military instruction unsuited to his nature, are only 
such as they have picked up in the cafes of Pera. 

Those who have known something of war, who have 
studied the Turkish peasant in his home as well as in his 
masquerade uniform, and have seen how he behaves under 
fire in spite of the imbecility or cowardice of his chiefs, can 
truly assert that the worthy Prussian citizen is no more to 
be compared to the Balkan Chelibi than the winner of a 
farmer's plate in some obscure country meeting to the 
winner of the Derby ; one may get over the course by dint 
of hard spurring and language, but the race-horse is born a 
race-horse, just as the cart-horse is born and remains a cart- 
horse, even though he may win a cup in bad company. 

With the Germans war is an acquired vice; with the 
Turks it is second nature. 

Make the drill and manoeuvres clear and simple, as is the 
true Art of War, and you will solve the problem of creating 
a great military force at little expense — but in Turkey alone. 



Chap. XXI. ORGANIZE VOLUNTEERS. 345 

In Prussia the Landwelir is worth more than - the line, 
because it consists of men in the prime of their strength, 
but its mobilization entails enormous expense and heavy 
loss upon the country ; in England the Volunteers are, as it 
were, permanently mobilized, but in spite of their original, if 
not eccentric uniforms, they cannot become soldiers until 
after some months of campaigning. Courage will probably 
not be wanting in their ranks, but the habits of camp life 
(not the camp life of Wimbledon), the confidence in a 
Kismet which the soldier acquires only by long familiarity 
with danger, and which the Turk drinks in with his mother's 
milk, that talent of se fournir a lui which the Zouave claims 
as his own invention, and that indescribable feeling which 
causes one man to kill another with as little remorse as if he 
were shooting a hare, will take our Volunteers some time to 
acquire — whilst all these qualities are innate in the Turkish 
peasant, and will only be extinguished with the Osmanli race. 

The Volunteer system of England applied to this country 
would produce a vast army of soldiers, and a Turkish peasant, 
who had the good fortune to learn the manoeuvres and 
musketry instruction taught to the Englishman, would be 
more than a match for any five of the machine-soldiers 
turned out by the great military organizations of continental 
Europe. Turkey needs but little to render her the greatest 
military power in the world, for she already possesses a 
courageous population, disciplined by nature, dressed in a 
costume better adapted for campaigning than any other, and 
who to become good soldiers need but good rifles, cartridges, 
a little drill to enable them to act together in masses, and 
good officers to lead and command them. 

Two millions of rifles would cost six millions of Turkish 



346 



MILITARY RESOURCES OF TURKEY. Chap. XXI. 



pounds, paid once for all ; forty millions of cartridges (twenty 
per man) would cost ten millions of piastres, or about 90,000Z. 
a year. 

As the pay of the officers of the Eediff might consist in 
grants of land, which is now almost valueless in Turkey, 
it need not be taken into consideration, and we find that 
(counting 10 per cent, interest on the sum paid for the rifles) 
for seventy millions of piastres, or about 600,000?. per annum, 
Turkey might have, in addition to her standing army, a 
reserve of two millions of the best soldiers in the world ready 
to take the field at a moment's notice. 

Omitting the details of such an organization, which would be 
interesting only to military readers, we will merely state that 
the plan itself is eminently practical, and would be profitable 
both to the country and the Government, and we will make a 
comparison between it and the present system of Eediff. 

By the latter, if the Government wishes to mobilize 20,000 
KedifTs, so many labourers are taken away from the fields, 
and, their pay and rations being insufficient, are forced to 
subsist at their own expense after having abandoned their 
families and their growing crops,* and consequently are 
not worth, in point of morale, half what they would be if 
called out only at the actual commencement of hostilities. 

Here then we find both a great loss of morale and a great 
injury to the country ; and tracing the system onwards, we 
notice other evils caused by the necessity of mobilizing at 
least three or four months before the outbreak of war, such 
as diseases incident to all large permanent assemblages of 

* As rumours of war are more rife in spring than at any other time, 
it is always at that season that the Rediff soldier is obliged to leave his 
family. 



Chap. XXI. 



EXPENSE OF THE EEDIFF. 



347 



men, and the fact that even the bravest soldiers,- those who 
are soldiers by nature and experience, do not directly or 
easily feel themselves at home in a strange regiment. 

It requires some months for officer and soldier to become 
acquainted with one another, and for masses of men to form 
into that homogeneous monster which is called a battalion, 
for the discipline and the nervous system of the men to 
be so developed as to establish a rapid communication 
between the brain and the limbs, and finally for the battalion 
to learn to march, to condense itself into columns, to deploy 
into line, and to break up into skirmishers; in short, not 
only is a good deal of time necessary to re-drill and discipline 
the troops, but means of transport as well as a medical and 
commissariat service have to be organized; in a word, an 
army has to be organized, disciplined, and equipped every 
time that the Bediff is called out. 

These operations cannot well take less than four months, 
during which time the Turkish Government has to feed, pay, 
and clothe the soldiers, without counting their arming, or 
the organization of the various non-combatant branches of the 
service, which last form important items ; the following is an 
approximative calculation of the cost of 20,000 Kediffs : — 

Piastres. 

1,600,000 



240,000 



Pay of 20,000 soldiers for four months at 20 piastres perl 
month . . . . . . . . . . . . . . j 

Pay of the officers calculated at a minimum of 3000] 
piastres per battalion of 1000 men, colonels and' 
general officers not included — for twenty battalions, 
for four months 

20,000 uniforms at 500 piastres each 10,000,000 

2,400,000 rations at 4 piastres 9,600,000 

Thus the Rediff (without counting other branches] 

of the service) costs, before it is ready for a cam- > 21,440,000 
paign, for every 20,000 men , . . . . . J 



348 MILITARY RESOURCES OF TURKEY. Chap. XXI. 

Taking account of the various other expenses incident to 
the mobilization of troops, we shall find that it is no exag- 
geration to calculate every 20,000 men as costing thirty 
millions of piastres, and such a body forms but an insigni- 
ficant corps oVarmee in these days of large armaments, when 
even 100,000 soldiers is not a very imposing number. This 
latter number would cost Turkey 150 millions of piastres 
(about 1,350,000?.) before they were ready to take the field, 
and, as we have said, they would be badly equipped, de- 
moralized, disgusted with military life from their camp 
experience, and decimated by sickness before they made a 
single strategic movement ; if war does not break out after 
all, 150 millions of piastres have been entirely wasted. 

By such a system as we advocate, 2,000,000 good soldiers 
could be mobilized, and 1,500,000 thrown upon the frontier, 
at less expense to the Government and country : such an 
organization, far from being novel in Turkey, is nearly the 
same as that which rendered her in the days of her grandeur 
the most formidable military power of Europe. 

If instead of having recourse to the organization and other 
operations necessary for the formation of an army only at the 
moment of danger, the Turkish people were kept under a 
permanent military organization, the great question of mili- 
tary strength would be at once solved. The characters, 
manners, habits, customs, and costume of the Turk permit 
of this being done in the following manner without difficulty 
and at little expense : the Turk is born a soldier, and after 
his service in the army is hardly more of one than before, 
but even the bravest man requires a good weapon with 
which to make the most of his courage ; he is submissive 
to authority, honest and upright by nature, but he requires 



Chap. XXI. 



REQUISITES FOE VOLUNTEERS. 



349 



discipline and good officers to transform these virtues into 
military obedience ; lie is active, and stands fatigue well, but 
he requires instruction in rifle shooting and to be accustomed 
to his weapon,* and finally he must be able to manoeuvre so 
as to be easily handled when forming part of masses of 
troops, as well as have a few cartridges to make him ac- 
quainted with the capabilities of his weapon. 
Thus then there are four requisites : — 

1. Arms. 

2. Ammunition for practice. 

3. Officers. 

4. A simple system of drill, and a discipline compatible 
with time of peace. 

In our opinion the plan to be followed is this : limit the 
time of service in the line to four or even three years, and 
offer a good bounty for re-enlistment in order to keep good 
men in the regiment ; when the soldier has served his time 
let him return to his home, taking with him his rifle, am- 
munition, and accoutrement; as for his uniform (maimoun 
roubasi, monkey's dress, as the Turks call it) make an auto- 
da-fe of it, or if you are absolutely bent upon having soldiers 
disguised as learned poodles, keep it for the body guard 
of the Sultan or even for the line, but let the reserve wear 
a dress fitted for campaigning. According to the conduct 
of the soldier let him wear upon the arm a metal plate, 
gilded, silvered, or of bronze ; if he is a bad character, take 
his arms from him : these rewards and punishments would 
not only act as an incentive to good conduct, but create in 

* Every one who shoots, knows how much easier it is to shoot well with 
a rifle or gun to which one is accustomed, than with one which is strange 
or new. 



350 



MILITARY RESOURCES OF TURKEY. 



Chap. XXI. 



the breast of the soldier an attachment for his rifle like that 
which the artilleryman feels for his gun, and a soldier who 
threw away his rifle would be as much dishonoured as a field 
battery which abandoned its cannon — which is not now the 
case in the armies of Europe. 

The Turkish soldier arriving with his rifle at his village 
reports himself to the commanding officer,* who inspects his 
arms, &c, and the man returns to his work. On every 
Friday (the Mahommedan Sabbath) and holiday, after Divine 
Service in the mosque, the peasant-soldier takes his arms, 
and musters on the village green for inspection and drill, 
platoon or other according to the number of men in the 
village, and in the season when there is not much work in 
the fields battalion manoeuvres may be practised; the 
peasant-soldier should be liable to military punishment for 
every infraction of discipline, and a certain number told 
off every day to act as police and guard the village prison. 

Every man should have twenty cartridges per annum 
served out to him, of which five are to be fired against the 
butts according to regulation, and fifteen given to him to be 
used in shooting game, no small shot being allowed to enter 
the village. There is no danger of the Turk selling his 
cartridges, he is far too much of a sportsman to do that, and 
as he would be allowed to buy others from the military 
arsenals at regulation price on the written recommendation 
of his commanding officer, there would be no temptation for 
comrades to buy from one another ; besides, as his pouch will 
hold sixty cartridges, the reserve of forty must be always kept 



* This presupposes an organized staff of officers, &c, of which we shall 
speak presently. 



Chap. XXI. 



ESTIMATED COST. 



851 



up and shown at every inspection, and as from it would be 
taken those allowed for ball practice and sporting purposes 
(which would be replaced by others), his ammunition would 
always be fresh and in good condition,* 

* We do not here enter into such details of organization as the subdi- 
vision of the Reserve into three classes ; the first from 24 to 30 years of 
age, who rejoin the line in time of war and fill up the cadres ; the second 
from 30 to 50 years, forming the chief reserve and having its own organiza- 
tion, officers, &c. ; the third from 50 to 70 years, employed in garrison 
and escort duty, &c. ISTor do we speak of the distribution of the officers 
amongst the three classes in time of mobilization, nor of the drill or 
method of fighting ; we purposely abstain from all questions either purely 
military or of detail, as not being likely to interest the general reader. 
We have merely sketched out, in as popular a manner as possible, a system 
of organization in order to prove that Turkey possesses all the material 
necessary for a Reserve, numerically, morally, and in all ways more power- 
ful than those of Russia and Prussia united ; and that with a good system 
she might create and keep such a force without much increasing her budget. 

A single point will prove the latter part of this assertion ; a great 
economy might be made in the following manner ; the uniforms and boots 
of the soldier cost the Government at present 500 piastres a year per man 
at the least; now if the soldier had merely a plate of metal with his 
regimental number and that of his company and regiment, and 200 
piastres per annum to clothe himself with (we have already said enough 
upon the national costume as an uniform), we shall have a saving of 300 
piastres yearly per soldier, which, on the total number of 400,000 (which 
we believe to be the strength of the Ottoman army) gives 120,000,000 
piastres. A very good breech-loading rifle can be procured for 300 piastres, 
so that by this saving on the uniforms alone, Government would be able 
to arm 400,000 men annually, or in eight years to arm the whole Reserve 
of three millions of soldiers. The only expense besides this would be for 
cartridges, but this might be borne by arming 350,000 or even 300,000 
only annually ; in other words, by issuing 50,000 or 100,000 rifles less 
annually. There are many other economies possible and even advisable, 
such as a reduction in the salaries of the high officials and other public 
functionaries, but we have said enough to show that if Turkey has the will 
to become a great military power, it need not be the question of expense 
that stops her. 



352 MILITARY RESOURCES OF TURKEY. Chap. XXI. 

Thus then we have our soldier well armed, well equipped, 
and a good shot ; for a man who can bring down a deer or a 
hare with a rifle ball will seldom miss an enemy's skirmisher, 
and never a section of five men. Now remains the question 
of the officers. 

At present, an officer serves twenty or thirty years, retiring 
on a pension of five or six pounds, on which he starves for the 
rest of his life unless he happen to possess private means ; 
offer every officer, who has served five years in one rank, a 
house and (according to his rank) from 50 to 100 dulums of 
land gratis, but not free from taxes : to sergeants and other 
non-commissioned officers grant smaller tracts of from 10 
to 30 dulums, and these attractions, besides that of com- 
manding, will procure you as many officers as you want, and 
at the same time agriculture will be encouraged. 

By this organization (which the Turks would not only 
merely accept, but hail as the greatest possible boon) Turkey 
would acquire a Eeserve ready armed and equipped ; for, as 
we have already remarked, though the costume of the 
European would be unpractical and even ridiculous in war, 
the national costume of the Turk, from the turban to the 
charreks, is the best uniform that could be invented, and 
this immense force would cost only the arms and a little 
of that land which is being daily given away to the Kayahs, 
the enemies of Turkey ; the only annual expense would be 
the cartridges, but surely 2,000,000 of good soldiers are 
worth twenty millions of piastres, or Is. 8d. each. 

As there are volunteer cavalry and artillery in England, 
the same system might be adopted for these branches of the 
service in Turkey, where the material is at least equally 
good. Again, if the Eayah were subjected to military service 



Chap. XXI. 



CHRISTIAN NON-COMBATANT CORPS. 



353 



equally with the Turk (as in justice he ought to be) all the 
non-combatant corps * would be organized, and in order to 
enter upon a campaign the whole Reserve would need but 
two days' notice, the time necessary for the women to cook 
fifteen days' provisions which the soldier carries in his chanta^ 
thus saving the country the expense of the four months' 
organization of the present system. These soldiers too, 
leaving their homes only in the moment of danger, would 
be far superior in point of morale to troops who had wasted 
months in camp and become home-sick before a shot was 
fired. Unencumbered with heavy packs and painful boots, 
the men of the new Reserve would easily march their thirty 
miles a day, and 50,000 or 100,000 of them might be thrown 
upon any frontier in a week, and at very little cost to the 
Government. 

A medical staff would be of course necessary, and if army 
doctors were sent from the army into country districts 
(without losing their right to promotion) it would be an 
immense benefit to the villages, which have no other doctor 
than the witch, and the Rediff might take the field followed 
by its surgeons. 

It may be thought that this permanent arming of the 
Mussulmans would be a danger to the Christians, and render 
their position even more precarious than do the insults and 
wrongs daily inflicted upon the Turks by the Turkish Govern- 
ment ; the Turk, however, seeing at his side the Rayah who 
procures him his food, and who digs to-day the intrenchment 

* See the Chapter on the Military Service of the Turk. 

f A bag made of goat-skin or deer-skin, and used by the Turks for 
carrying food, &c. ; it is worn slung on the back, from the shoulder to the 
hip. 

2 A 



354 



MILITARY RESOURCES OF TURKEY. 



Chap. XXI. 



which the soldier will defend to morrow, will cease to regard 
him as his enemy and that of Turkey, whilst the Christian 
Kediff (of volunteers) rallying with the Mussulman regi- 
ments will also produce a beneficial effect in reconciling 
hereditary antipathies. Politically speaking, every Eayah 
with the army will be a hostage for the internal peace of the 
country, and a guarantee against such massacres by Christian 
peasants of Mussulman women and children as took place 
during the Kussian invasion. 

The whole plan is, however, too logical, and, whilst very 
easy of execution, affords too little scope for speculation 
ever to be adopted by the Turkish Government — and so 
we leave it. 

What we have endeavoured to prove is that the Govern- 
mental resolution of Sultan Mahmoud upset the military 
organization of Turkey to replace it only by an irrational 
and anti-national copy of European systems, whereas the 
ancient institutions, with a little necessary alteration, would 
have raised the military power of the country in the same 
manner that a little discipline would have reformed the 
Janissaries and avoided the massacre of one of the finest 
bodies of soldiers in the world: in short, that Turkey has 
only to wish in order to regain her position amongst the 
first Powers of Europe, and to be the mistress of the destinies 
of Asia. One single man of energy at the head of the 
Government could effect this, for the Turkish people would 
rise as one man to support him with heart and hand. But 
though the people are ready, the man is not forthcoming, 
for it is only amongst the villages, and not in the towns, 
that we can hope to find men of energy, brains, and courage. 



Chap. XXII. AUTHORITY OF THE SULTAN. 



355 



CHAPTEK XXIL 

GOVERNMENT AND GOVERNMENT FUNCTIONARIES, ADMINIS- 
TRATION OF JUSTICE, &C. &C. 

Authority of the Sultan — Edict of Gul Hane — The future regenerator 
— Temporizing policy — Palace of the Porte — Palace of a Pasha — A 
mixed assemblage — The Cadis and the Medjliss. 

The Turkish Government has been ever since its foundation 
an autocracy, the Sultan being responsible for his actions to 
but one person, the Moufti or Head of the Ulema ; but, as 
this dignitary could be deposed from his functions at the 
will of the sovereign, his authority offered a feeble barrier to 
the absolute power of the master of the destinies and lives 
of 35,000,000 subjects. Various authors who have written 
upon Turkish history give widely differing figures, from 7 
(Von Hammer) to 1000 (Kycaut), as the number of persons 
whom the Padischah might put to death in one day without 
other cause than his own pleasure. As, however, the Sultans 
were bound to submit to the civil and religious precepts of 
the Koran, even the most bloodthirsty amongst them were 
restrained in their excesses by the laws of the Prophet, and 
although they united in their own persons both the legisla- 
tive and executive power, their edicts had not the force of 
law unless sanctioned by the doctrines of the Koran ; these 
edicts of the Sultans are styled Onrji, and have never been 
considered otherwise than as supplementary to the great 

2 a 2 



356 



ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE, &c. 



Chap. XXII. 



laws contained in the Koran and the Sounna (the traditional 
sayings of Mahomet), and to the decisions and sentences of 
the four great Imams. 

The Ottoman Government was personified as a large tent, 
under which the ancient Sultans distributed justice, and 
from the Italian translation of the " lofty portal " we derive 
the term Sublime Porte, by which it is now distinguished. 

The Sultan governed with the aid — in the great reigns 
more properly through the medium — of Viziers or Ministers, 
of whom the Grand Vizier, or chief of the ministerial 
council, was formerly also Seraskier or Minister of War. 

Justice was, as it still partly remains, in the hands of the 
Ulema, or corporation of legists and learned men, amongst 
whom the priests formed a comparatively insignificant pro- 
portion. The edict of Gul Hane was the first Charter 
granted by the sovereign, and, like the Hatti Sheriff of 
1856, was not so much an address to his subjects as a sort 
of promise to Europe to conduct himself like a civilized 
ruler on condition of being treated as such by the great 
Powers. 

Since this time the statesmen of Turkey have taken, or 
rather pretended to take, the new position of their country 
as seriously meant ; hence the dangerous though often 
laughable hops, skips, and jumps they make on the road of 
civilization, and that political lofty tumbling which, without 
benefiting Turkey, fatally shakes such of her ancient in- 
stitutions as still cement together and give a species of 
consistency to the State, and is not always even successful 
in obtaining the applause of biases European spectators, who 
demand that each summersault shall be higher than the 
last. 



Chap. XXII. 



THE FUTURE REGENERATOR. 



357 



It must not be imagined, however, that Turkish statesmen 
are fools, or even puppets ; there are amongst them intellects 
which would do honour to any Cabinet of Western Europe ; 
but even a man of the talent of Fuad Pasha has a hopeless 
task before him, when he finds himself in presence of that 
immense chaos which has resulted from destroying the old 
order of things before laying the foundation of a new edifice, 
social, political, economical, financial, and even governmental. 

To create order out of such disorder is too much for an 
ordinary brain or an ordinary ambition; a Napoleon, a 
Doria, or a Selim II. might erect from this ruin a vast 
military power, a country enormously rich, or even the 
great centre of a civilization based upon the precepts of 
the Koran, and around which would gravitate all the peoples 
of Islam ; a still greater genius might even unite all these, 
but such a genius does not exist in Turkey. A man of 
talent and skill may sound the abyss, calculate the latent 
strength, estimate the resources, and discover the means, 
but between appreciation and action there is a wide gulf, 
and this gulf must be crossed in Turkey not by talent but 
by genius, which alone will hazard the perilous step 
necessary. 

The statesmen at present in power know as well as we do 
all the abuses and economical vices which we have pointed 
out in this book ; for not to perceive them they must be 
more than short-sighted, they must be wilfully blind. The 
immense but undeveloped resources, the formidable but 
latent strength, the alluring prestige of a possible future 
domination over 140 millions of Mussulmans — a population 
equal to all the members of the Protestant and Greek 
Churches — no doubt appear before the eyes of men in office 



358 



ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE, &c. Chap. XXII. 



as a brilliant mirage; but between such a dream and its 
realization there is this terrible step to be dared, such a step 
as few men will take, especially when they are already in a 
position which, though precarious, does not demand either 
the heroic courage or indefatigable exertions which spring 
only from ambition or genius; they will not exchange a 
luxurious palace for the hard life of a camp, a court of 
flatterers for a crowd of enemies, a peaceable and tranquil 
existence for a life full of dangers. Yet such must be the 
choice of the man who seeks to regenerate Turkey ; he must 
neither quail before circumstances, nor tremble before his 
sovereign, he must march boldly on the road he has traced 
out, overcome all obstacles, and crush all enemies without 
other support than his own force of mind, without other 
motive than his own belief in his mission, and without other 
hope of success than that inspired by the consciousness of 
his own strength of will. 

It is the easiest course to dismiss these fair visions, to 
prefer the routine of temporization to such a warfare, and a 
skilful but vacillating policy to a menacing display of force. 
Such is the reason that, though Fuad Pasha is perhaps the 
most clever diplomatist of Europe, Turkey is gliding slowly, 
but surely, into the gulf of a blood-stained future, whose 
result is uncertain ; even this terrible eventuality causes less 
fear than the prospect of the struggle by which it might be 
avoided, and this feeling explains all the anomalies which 
strike any one who studies even the minor questions of 
Turkey, for the general policy of this country may be 
resolved into one word, tenrporization. 

There is not a statesman in Turkey who seriously intends 
the reforms he proclaims, not one who sincerely desires 



Chap. XXII. 



TEMPOKIZING POLICY. 



359 



progress or the welfare of the Christians ; these are but the 
keys of the great political organ upon which the Minister 
plays, and hence the reforms are in direct proportion to the 
wind which originates them. A little whitewash for the 
walls of a town, a road or two traced out but never made, a 
railway which does not open up the country, but whose 
shares quoted in European newspapers produce a general 
effect of civilization, a few attempts at florid domestic 
architecture — all these cost but little, are dangerous neither 
to the country nor to the Ministry, whilst they have the 
desired result in Europe, and so they are now all the 
fashion. 

But if a Minister accidentally touches, even with the tips 
of the fingers, one of those grave and vital questions which 
affect the very existence of his country, he recoils in dismay 
from the electric shock. Who then will dare to raise the 
question of the military service of the Turk ? The Ministry 
of Constantinople are well aware that the Mussulman is 
crushed by this burden ; but they know that he is faithful 
and loyal to his sovereign, so they do not hesitate to 
continue the oppression, since to distribute even-handed 
justice would make the Eayah complain, and draw down 
lightning from the surcharged clouds of the North. 

To reform the army practically would be unpleasant to 
those foreign officers officially attached to it, and ruinous 
to the contractors ; to put a stop to the frauds of Eastern 
commerce would extirpate half a million of robbers, but it 
would awaken the wrath of half a hundred Consuls ; to 
change the tenure of landed property and the system of 
taxation would give prosperity to the country, but it would 
aggrieve the Rayahs and offend the tax-farmers. Better to 



360 



ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE, &c. 



Chap. XXII. 



give up all idea of improving the finances of Turkey, better 
to obtain a new loan at a sacrifice of 80 per cent., than to 
bring this nest of wasps about ministerial ears ! 

Thus all vital questions are shelved, and if Europe speaks, 
she is answered by a touch of paint given to some super- 
annuated institution, by a new concession to the Christians, 
or a patent organization which looks well in a despatch, but 
in reality is worth nothing or less than nothing. 

The Cabinet of Stamboul well knows that in Turkey there 
is but one element susceptible of immediate civilization, but 
not one of its members dare contradict the received opinion 
that the Turk is a barbarian incapable of all progress; it 
repeats without ceasing that the Ministers have to struggle 
against the prejudices of the Mussulman population, and 
are as yet unable to communicate to their country the 
civilization they have themselves acquired, on account of 
this semi-savage people.* 

This comedy, with its scenery of whitewashed towns, 
costumes almost European, even the uniforms of the army 
being a ridiculous and expensive flattery of France, may be 
played to the approbation of the audience in the boxes, but 
behind the scenes you see the bareness and superficiality of 
everything, and that the rouge on the actors' cheeks does 
not conceal their pallor, whilst there are piles of weapons 
thrown away into a corner, and heaps of gold covered by 
heaps of dust, the actors having neither the courage to seize 
the one nor to use the other. Sooner or later this comedy 
will change to a sanguinary drama. 



* See the communication from Fuad Pasha enclosed in the Despatch of 
H. E. Lord Lyons to Lord Stanley, dated May 6, 1867 (Appendix M). 



Chap. XXII. 



PALACE OF THE POETE. 



361 



We have now said enough upon Turkish civilization and 
organization, and have sketched in truthful colours the 
cause of the existing monomania for embellishing the towns ; 
we have seen Turkish politicians struggling against the 
current of progress, hoodwinking or deceiving European 
diplomatists, and throwing whole sackfuls of gilded dust in 
the eyes of the public opinion of the West; we will then 
pass from generals to particulars, and having found out the 
motive principle of the great governmental engine, we will 
proceed to examine its works. 

Perhaps some of our readers may have found themselves 
in contact with the Turkish Government in its bodily shape, 
and know as well as we do the interior of that supremely ugly 
yellow building in which the Sublime Porte deigns to reside, 
the great Salle des Pas JPerdus, in which swarm throngs of 
petitioners, from the officer to the Jewish pedlar, whilst 
amongst the motley crowd circulate the karehjis with their 
trays of tiny coffee cups, or mendicant dervishes whose proud 
eyes and stern features seem to proclaim them the emperors 
of poverty, and the long, matted corridors, along which the 
humbler natives glide in their stockinged feet as silently as 
shadows, whilst the Embassy Attache or privileged Frank 
makes his boots creak as if in disdain of the Mussulman, 
and seems at each step to be giving a kick to the poor 
wretches condemned to dance attendance upon the Sublime 
Porte. 

From these corridors open numerous doors, each covered 
with a hanging carpet, behind which are divans occupied by 
cross-legged and bearded employes, all fat and apparently 
bloated with a self-consciousness of importance, smoking and 
counting the amber beads of their rosaries ; then the offices, 



362 



ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE, &c. Chap. XXII. 



filled with big scarlet-bound books littered about on the 
floor, and the shelves in a thoroughly Turkish disorder ; and 
finally the inner sanctuaries where the great official person- 
ages give you a cup of coffee, a chibouque, and an evasive 
answer. 

Seeing all this, it is difficult to help being astonished 
when one recollects that this Tower of Babel is the centre of 
a Government which numbers 35,000,000 subjects, or not to 
fancy that one such office as this would be enough to drive 
the rest of the world demented; yet it is really in these 
offices filled with loungers, and in these sancta sanctorum 
where his Highness converses with so much wit, politeness, 
and tact, that the destiny of Turkey is settled. 

At the Seraskierat * things are still worse, for it is a very 
pandemonium of employes ; in the English War Office and 
Horse-Guards there are three clerks too many in every four ; 
at the Seraskierat forty-nine too many in every fifty, who 
form a regular army, unfortunately dangerous to the Otto- 
man troops only. Thanks to, or in spite of, the English 
superfluity, the British soldier receives his pay regularly and 
is clothed in good stout materials ; but thanks to the flood of 
Turkish employes, the Turkish soldier seldom gets more 
than a fleeting glimpse of part of the money which he ought 
to have received two years before, and is dressed in fantas- 
tical rags and tatters.t 

The Turkish Admiralty is a little, though but very little, 
better managed ; the only office (if we may so call it), where 
there reigns a kind of order and imposing gravity, being 



* Ministry of War. 

f See the Chapter on the Military Resources of Turkey. 



Chap. XXII. 



PALACE OF A PASHA. 



363 



that of the Grand Moufti, who presides over matters having 
reference to religion and canonical law ; in everything con- 
nected with the Ulema there is something which compels 
veneration and respect, and you no longer seem to be in the 
booths of a fair, but may almost fancy yourself in presence 
of the white-bearded Patriarchs of the Bible. 

The Conacs of the provinces are only smaller and less 
crowded copies of the great foci of Government at Con- 
stantinople, and to describe one of them is to describe all. 

Below is the usual Salle des Pas Perdus on which (space 
being more restricted than in the capital) open the doors 
of the various bureaux, but if you have come to see the 
Pasha you must go upstairs, official dignity in Turkey being 
measured by the number of stairs mounted to arrive in its 
presence ; if there were here houses with fourteen stories 
as in Edinburgh, it would be on the fourteenth flat that 
His Excellency would grant audience. As such monumental 
structures as these are not to be found in the country, you 
are ushered into a little room on the first or second floor, 
scantily furnished with a divan, a stove, a few chairs, and an 
arm-chair for the Pasha. It is generally the dragoman or 
interpreter of the Conac who receives you, and does the 
honours until his master's arrival ; he is invariably a Greek 
or Armenian, and has a friendly habit of calling you "nion 
cher " after the first two minutes of a conversation which will 
probably be on politics, and in which he lays down the law as 
if he were an embodiment of the Sultan and Mr. John Stuart 
Mill ; he is sometimes intelligent, but always shallow, and 
ten minutes' talk will get him well out of his depth. 

When the Pasha arrives, you mutually bow, shake hands, 
and begin another conversation which, whatever may be 



364 



ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE, &c. Chap. XXII. 



your knowledge of Turkish, is usually carried on through 
the medium of the dragoman, out of politeness to this 
functionary, who, in spite of the oath he has taken to inter- 
pret faithfully, will (if he thinks that you are ignorant of 
Turkish) enliven the tedium of his duty by twisting and 
turning your phrases into something that you never meant 
them to mean, and that he knows they never could mean. 
Sometimes, however, the Pasha has a knowledge of French 
or German, and ventures boldly into the intricacies of one of 
these languages, dismissing the dragoman with a majestic 
wave of the hand. Talk of shooting, Paris, Constantinople 
— any indifferent subject you please — and the Pasha will 
answer you frankly and pleasantly, taking his full share 
in the interchange of ideas ; but if }^ou hazard a w r ord con- 
cerning the internal government or state of Turkey, his face 
sets into official fixity, and he either contradicts you flatly 
or is altogether silent. If you come on business, address 
yourself to some subordinate, and bribe him well ; if you 
wish to speak of the country, never cross the threshold of the 
Conac. 

During your visit (unless it is a private audience) many 
different personages pass in and out of the room ; that man 
with a cunning face, Greek trousers, and a Kayah fez, who 
sits upon a square inch of his straw chair near the door, 
who rises every time that the Pasha opens his lips, and who 
receives from the attendants only a cup of coffee, and neither 
chibouque (which is the greatest honour) nor cigarettes, is 
the Chorbaji, or mayor of the town, and farmer of the taxes 
of the district; he robs the Government, and cheats the 
peasant without scruple or remorse, but he bows to the ground 
before the Pasha. 



Chap. XXII. 



A MIXED ASSEMBLAGE. 



365 



The old grey-bearded Turk, seated by your side on the 
divan, who is telling the beads of his rosary and smoking his 
chibouque with such sublime indifference to all passing 
around him, is the Cadi, or Judge. 

The gentleman who has just entered, attired in the latest 
Parisian fashion of 1840, with a convex waistcoat, and the 
riband of the Green Tiger of Teufelschwanz (8th class) in his 
button hole, is Mr. Frenkel, Vice-Consul of Monaco, buyer 
and seller of stolen cattle, agent for the famous manufac- 
turers of chemical matches, A. M. Pollak of Vienna, and 
head of the Post-office of the Messageries Grand-ducales of 
Modena; he has come to obtain a concession for building 
a new landing-place in the harbour, and he will succeed in 
getting it, or diplomatic relations will be interrupted between 
his Excellency the Pasha and the Government of Monaco. 

With another bow, and another shake of the hands, you 
withdraw, and as you go downstairs you notice a Cherkess 
in rags, but armed with a dagger which would fetch fifty 
pounds in a curiosity shop, and seemingly as proud in his 
poverty as other people are of their wealth ; he has come to 
get a Tapou for some land he is clearing, but not being able 
to pay his way into the Registration-office, he is forced to 
wait, eviden tally much to his disgust; but he looks, despite his 
rags, more like a king about to grant an audience than a 
humble petitioner. 

Meanwhile a being with bare and unwashed feet has 
sneaked into the bureau of the Tapouji, and backs humbly 
out of it almost on all fours : it is a Bulgarian who has 
obtained the Tapou for the land of the Circassian, whom he 
accidentally touches in passing, and to whom he pours forth 
a flood of abject excuses. 



366 ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE, &c. Chap. XXII. 

There stands a group of Turkish peasants discussing the 
justice of a sentence given against their village, and in favour 
of the Beylikji ; * these the Rayah carefully avoids as he 
makes his way to the door. 

There is a knot of Greeks and Jews concocting some little 
scheme of cheatery, and deep in the endeavour to divide the 
anticipated spoil so that each man shall have the satisfaction 
of outwitting his accomplices by pocketing the largest share. 

Moving amongst these various groups is a Deli (madman) 
begging his daily bread, a Jew gives him ten paras (a half- 
penny), and he passes on, the Cherkess gives him the last 
piastre he can spare, and the Deli offers him in return ten 
piastres, saying, " You want this more than I do, take it for 
your land; as for me I require nothing but a few leaves 
of cabbage, to keep me from dying of starvation ; I am a 
philosopher, or what the world calls a madman, and the 
philosopher needs nothing but the strictly necessary." The 
Cherkess replies, " Others are poorer than I am : give your 
money to the crippled, not to the strong man, I have yet my 
two arms to work with." The Deli puts the money in his 
pocket, and, as he goes out into the street, gives it to a 
Christian beggar woman with three children.! 

A few words about the distribution of justice in Turkey. 
A poor fellow said to us one day, " My law-suit will be judged 
by the Medjliss, so it is lost ; for I am very poor. Ah ! if it 
had pleased God that it should be tried before the Cadi, 
I should have had some chance of justice ! " 

The venality of the mixed tribunals is proverbial; the 
Cadis are sometimes, though not often, corruptible, but their 



* Tax-farmer. 



f This scene is not imaginary. 



Chap. XXII. THE CADIS AND THE MEDJLISS. 



367 



misdeeds are as nothing compared with those committed by 
the Medjliss and the Tij arret (Tribune of Commerce), and 
more especially by those Kayah tribunals presided over by 
Eayah ecclesiastics. The Cadis often judge rather sum- 
marily, but in their slightly Solomonic decisions there is 
a basis of justice ; they may occasionally be venal, but are 
usually upright and inflexible as a bar of iron ; besides, in 
the nature of the Turk there is a deep rooted natural sense 
of right and wrong, and the Cadi is sometimes obliged to 
yield, even against Ins will, to the expressed convictions 
of the bystanders in the Court. 

This is not the case with the mixed tribunals : it does not 
always happen that in these the Mussulman element is 
numerically superior, and even when it is so the Eayahs 
are the richer and consequently more influential members 
of the Council; in a trivial affair they will not even take 
the trouble to vote, putting their seals to any decision what- 
ever ; but if the business has any importance for themselves, 
or if they are bribed accordingly, they leave no stone un- 
turned to have it settled as they wish ; false witnesses 
amongst the Eayahs are almost a drug in the market, and 
though the Cadi may refuse them the Medjliss will admit 
their testimony. 

Whenever a Eayah bears witness in a Turkish Court, 
justice is in danger : Consul-General Longworth proves this 
assertion in a passage already quoted from the Consular 
Eeports. 



363 



TURKISH REFORMS AND REFORMERS. Chap. XXIII. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

TURKISH REFORMS AND REFORMERS. 

Races unfit for liberty — Denationalizing reforms — Despatch of Fuad 
Pasha — ' The tax of blood ' — Mussulman troops and Christian officers 
— Extreme concessions — A village Medjliss or council — The Vilayets. 

A social and liberal revolution effected by an absolute 
Government can bear no fruits, for the good and simple 
reason that it is generally " against the grain " of the people, 
that Reforms the most liberal in appearance, and from which 
the happiest results are hoped for — being without a reason 
for their existence, and neither wished for nor comprehended 
by the country — can serve no useful purpose, and not being 
appreciated by the people are put to uses far different from 
those for which they were intended. 

Liberty in the abstract is beautiful and desirable, but in 
order that liberty may be valued and valuable, it must have 
been won by a people who have felt the need of it, and whose 
struggles in its attainment have taught them its worth, and 
prepared them to use, and not abuse, it ; to give liberty 
and civil rights to those who are ready neither for the one 
nor the other, is to throw pearls before swine. 

An absolute and powerful Government, or a vigorous 
aristocracy, are the schoolmasters of an infant people ; stern 
masters sometimes, and yet it is in their schools that the 
greatest nations of the civilized world have been educated. 



Chap. XXIII. RACES UNFIT FOR LIBERTY. 



369 



Grant to the Kussian Mougick all that he asks, and see 
what he will do with it; look at the state, of Kussia since 
the enfranchisement of the peasants ; compare the exports 
of grain from Wallachia before and after the coup d'etat of 
Prince Couza. The reason is simple ; the Kussian or Walla- 
chian peasant, ignorant of the value of liberty, and not 
understanding the advantages of becoming a landowner, 
hating work above all things, and having seen, as he 
imagined, his master profit by his rights of property only 
to do nothing — for he is not aware that capital represents 
the result of dormant labour coined into money or trans- 
muted into land — says to himself, "When I am free, and 
a landowner, I will do like the masters, I will do nothing 
but enjoy myself." 

The idea has never presented itself to him, that land 
without labour is entirely unproductive, and when he has 
found out this truth by experience, and his money is spent, 
he sells his property instead of working, and sinks back into 
proletarianism : the whole country suffers, and the peasant 
has gained nothing. 

We are very far from asserting that the despotism of a 
Government, or of a class, is a good or desirable state of 
things, but we maintain that liberty, when it is neither won 
nor deserved, degenerates into licence, and can produce only 
disorder and stagnation ; give the peasant such an education 
as will make him a man, and then bestow on him all civil 
rights. 

Suppose that entire liberty were granted to children, what 
use would they make of it ? 

Happily, in civilized Europe there are no such peasantry 
as those of whom we have been speaking, and our argument 

2 B 



370 



TURKISH REFORMS AND REFORMERS. Chap. XXIII. 



will perhaps be little understood for that reason ; but if, 
ceasing to generalize, we glance at the state of Turkey, it will 
become more easily comprehensible. 

The edict or Hatti Sheriff of Gul Hane grants to the 
Eayahs a species of Charter: that the life, liberty, and 
honour of every subject of the Sultan should be ensured 
and guaranteed is but just, but the spoliation of one race 
for the benefit of the other is unjust, and especially when 
the favoured people has no real right to the favours it has 
obtained. The Government has performed what it promised, 
but it has forgotten to do so " without distinction of religion 
or of race." 

Turkish reformers have acted in precisely the same manner 
as the official Liberals of Kussia, they have granted the widest 
concessions to a class which did not feel the want of them, 
and which has not yet even the hope of a future, and they 
have stripped another class whose tendencies are towards 
civilization, and who are not without elements of progress ; 
the Eussian nobles, and the Turks, are despoiled for the 
benefit of the peasants and the Eayahs. Eussia, where 
civilization had already gained a footing and industry was 
beginning to spring up, is ruined, and Turkey is in a state of 
chaos almost irremediable. 

Such is the first cause and origin of the disastrous ano- 
malies from which Turkey suffers, and which render her the 
theatre of civil and political disorder; it is owing to this 
governmental revolution that property is no longer property, 
that everywhere you see immense Chifliks * lying waste and 
uncultivated, that agriculture is the ruin instead of the 



* Farms. 



Chap. XXIII. DENATIONALIZING KEFORMS. 



371 



wealth of the country, that industry does not exist, that 
the Turk is forced to spend half his time in sauntering 
along the streets of a garrison town dressed up like a 
gipsy's ape, and that the Rayah wastes his capital of 
labour, and the resources of the land bestowed on him by the 
Government, in idleness and drunkenness. 

Such is the great sin of commission of the reformers, by 
whom public disorder and misery have been sown broadcast ; 
and as we have stigmatized the social and economical crime 
of which they are guilty, we will now follow them in their 
operations and examine the unskilful and sometimes laugh- 
able palliatives to which they have recourse. 

The Ottoman Government is well aware that there is 
something radically wrong in the administration and even in 
the organism of the country ; but it does not know where — 
" on entend sonner, mais on ne sait pas dans quelle eglise " 
— and would give a good deal to be enlightened on the 
point. Such knowledge is not very difficult to arrive at, 
and if the Sultan were to call up any Balkan Chelibi and 
ask him what the country really needs, he would learn more- 
than from all the political economists of Europe and Turkey, 
or any eonseil d'etat present or future. The Balkan Chelibi 
knows the wants of Turkey, because he feels them himself, 
and its anomalies, because he suffers from them; and the 
remedies he would propose are logical, because they would 
be national. In Turkey it is necessary to base institutions 
upon one nationality alone, since it is impossible to satisfy 
all of them, and those who imagine themselves capable of 
doing so would do well previously to call to mind the fable 
of the old man, his son, and his ass ; we have already said 
that there is but one nationality fitted to serve as a basis for 

2 b 2 



372 



TURKISH REFORMS AND REFORMERS. Chap. XXIII 



sensible reforms, and even if any other were chosen the 
attempt would be in vain, for what would the Greeks and 
Armenians say if the Bulgarians were thus selected ? 

Unfortunately the Balkan Chelibi has not yet been sum- 
moned to the councils of his Majesty; and we have only to 
occupy ourselves with the reformers at present in fashion. 

Undeniably the reforms of the day have no national or 
even popular foundation ; everything is copied from foreign 
models, and it is fancied that by closely imitating a great 
foreign nation in its laws, institutions, and customs, a people 
equally great will be created in Turkey ; but the Turkish 
Government forgets that the Frenchman is a Frenchman 
before he is a ^Republican or an Imperialist, and that those 
who have ventured to place party before nationality, and to 
be Eoyalists before they are Frenchmen, have abdicated 
their civil rights, and are no longer anything but a class 
without influence and without action in that great society 
of France which, whatever else may be said of it, is, to begin 
with, based upon nationality. 

If Turkey can imitate so closely everything French, from 
a cafe chantant to a conseil d'etat, how is it that she has 
overlooked or neglected the principle of French nation- 
ality ? 

The greatest and most essential want of the country is 
justice, justice everywhere ; the Turks cry aloud for it, and 
the Kayah speechifies about it, although he knows too well 
what impartial justice would do for him to be really anxious 
about seeing it introduced. 

Such justice would be difficult to establish, for the 
Government which made the attempt would find itself 
impeded by foreign residents, it would have to alter or 



Chap. XXIIT. DESPATCH OF FIT AD PASHA. 373 

modify the Capitulations, to make war against robbery and 
swindling, that is against the Eastern commerce which has 
taken a lease of Turkey on a pepper-corn rent ; it would 
have to reform the method of conscription and to re-establish 
the rights of property, both of which changes would be 
most distasteful to the Eayah. Supposing this want to have 
been supplied, the second requirement of Turkey is strength ; 
military strength to repel those who might endeavour to 
prevent the country from forming itself, political strength 
to be able to introduce order, and strength of internal 
organization in order to execute justice and repress evil. 
The Balkan Chelibi would thus have defined the wants of 
his country, but it is hardly necessary to say that this is not 
the view taken by Turkish reformers. 

A curious and very significant document,* which may be 
considered as the programme of the Turkish reformers, is to 
be found appended to the English Consular Eeports on 
Turkey ; it is a species of Memoir presented to Lord Lyons 
by Fuad Pasha, in which that diplomatist explains the 
progress achieved and the progress yet remaining to be 
achieved, and the efforts made and yet to be made to satisfy, 
as the Memoir says, the conditions imposed upon Turkey 
before admitting her into the political family of the nations 
of Europe, and confidently asserts that his country has 
behaved well, and will still continue to do so, in spite of the 
Turks ! 

This document proves most convincingly that the Turkish 
authorities have done all in their power to ameliorate the 
physical, if not the moral condition of the Christians, but 



See Appendix M. 



374 TUEKISH REFORMS AND REFORMERS. Chap. XXIII. 



not a word is said upon the subject of the Mussulmans, if we 
except a passage which is worth quotation, as it shews the 
manner in which even Turkish Ministers express themselves 
upon those questions which concern the Mussulmans* 

" L'admission en fait des sujets non-Musulmans dans l'armee Ottomane 
a rencontre des obstacles de'rivant presque exclusivement de la repugnance 
qu'inspire aux sujets non-Musulinans le service militaire. Mais le Gouverne- 
ment, loin de renoncer a l'execution de cette mesure, qui est tout a 
l'avantage des Musuhnans, qui actuellement supportent seuls l'impot du 
sang, recherche les moyens d'introduire l'element non-Musulman dans 
l'armee, soit par voie d'engagement volontaire, soit dans d'autres conditions 
propres k ecarter des susceptibilite's ou des repugnances encore persistantes. 
II existe au surplus dans rarme'e Ottomane deux regiments de Cosaques 
mixtes, c'est a dire, composes de Musulmans et de Chretiens." — Consular 
Reports, page 82, paragraph 17. 

And what are the effects of these " repugnances " and these 
" susceptibilites " which render military service little to the 
taste of the Bayahs, and of that dislike to Ottoman rule which 



* We would strongly recommend those of our readers who may refer 
to Fuad Pasha's letter to read it in the original French, as the English 
translation is weak and incorrect throughout, and occasionally even alters 
and perverts the meaning of the Turkish Minister ; can the following for 
-instance, be called a translation? 

"Telle institution nouvelle que Ton trouve a peine ebauchee, apres 
plusieurs annees de luttes et d'efforts conscientieux, atteste plus victo- 
rieusement le progres que telle autre reforme entierement accomplie dont 
1'introduction n'a heurte ni les sentiments ni les prejuges des populations." 

" A fresh institution, at first roughly sketched out, after several years of 
struggles and conscientious efforts, whose introduction has wounded neither 
the feelings nor prejudices of the population, affords a better proof of 
progress than any other reform entirely carried out." 

This English version is mere nonsense : what a pity that the traditional 
schoolboy did not happen to be spending his holidays at the Embassy ; 
with the aid of a French dictionary he would easily have produced some- 
thing better than this. 



Chap. XXIII. 



« THE TAX OF BLOOD.' 



375 



prompts them to desire a " separation," and is the cause of 
those troubles which force the unhappy Turkish peasant to 
leave his home and join the army ? 

The sorrow and tears of the abandoned women and 
children, the muttered oath of the Turk as he leaves bis 
cottage, the cry of his sick child still ringing in his ears and 
mingled with the discordant sound of the gaida or some 
Bulgarian revelry, as, heavy-hearted and sad, he passes at 
night by a non-Mussulman village where all is dancing, 
feasting, and drunkenness, and contrasts this merriment with 
the grief which reigns in that other village behind the 
distant hills — all this suffering, all this injustice, is lightly 
passed over by Fuad Pasha, with the vague penny-a-liner's 
phrase, "the tax of blood," a phrase which means nothing 
at aU. 

The Frenchman pays his " tax of blood " when, with 
ribands streaming from his cap, he sets out laughing and 
singing, with " the field-marshal's baton " in his knapsack, to 
join a fine regiment, whose eagles glitter in a brilliant sun, 
which the crowd applauds, and which is accompanied by 
* patriotic cheers ; a glorious career is open to him, his 
comrades are gay as himself, and till the day of battle he is 
well fed, well clothed, well lodged, respected by all and 
envied by not a few ; and when the bullets whistle around 
him, ambition, the thirst for glory, and patriotism, combine 
to urge him forward, and he fights with the assurance that 
he is serving his country and that he will be the conqueror 
in the battle, and not (like the poor Turks) vanquished in 
spite of victory. If the attractive, gay, and brilliant picnic 
of French military life is called "the tax of blood," what 
name shall we give to the life of misery and privation, to 



376 TURKISH REFORMS AND REFORMERS. Chap. XXIII. 



the lingering death of the Turk? What phrase shall we 
find for the hardship of the Turkish Eediff's being snatched 
from his home at a moment's notice ? Perhaps the " tax of 
tears and of blood " would not be inappropriate. 

Fuad Pasha at Constantinople has never witnessed the 
distressing scenes at which we, who live amongst the peoples 
of the Balkans, have but too often been present; he has 
never seen, as we have, men weep — and the heart must 
bleed before a tear moistens the eye of a Turk of the 
mountains — or he would understand that the tears of a brave 
man are more menacing than words. 

Perhaps this very phrase " the tax of blood " with which 
the question of military service, so far as it regards the 
Turks, is dismissed, may yet prove to be a terrible though 
involuntary prophecy, for we know that prophets may be 
such unknown to themselves, and utter words which are 
dictated to them, but of which they are far from understand- 
ing the full meaning. 

But if in paragraph 17 of the Ministerial Memoir the 
Turks are disposed of in a couple of words,- this is not 
the case with the Rayahs, or, to adopt the periphrasis in * 
fashion, the " non-Mussulman subjects of the Sultan ;" the 
grievance is all on their side, for they are denied the exciting 
chances of distinguishing themselves in the ranks of an army 
which ought to be national in order that they may find in it 
a support for their " legitimate national ambition." Fuad 
Pasha apologizes for being unable to create such an army 
just at present, and adds, that it is almost entirely owing to 
the ' " repugnance qu'inspire aux sujets non-Musulmans le 
service militaire" that their praiseworthy aspirations have 
not yet been gratified, but " le Gouvernement, loin de re- 



Chap. XXIII. 



A WISE CAUTION. 



377 



n oncer a 1' execution cle cette mesure, recherche les moyens 
d'introduire l'eleruent non-Musulruan dans l'arnie'e," &c. &c. 

It is very evident that the " tax of blood " has not been 
reduced into figures or into days of labour by the Ottoman 
Ministry. 

A mezzo termine was possible which would have suited 
the ambition of the non-Mussulman youth of Turkey, namely, 
to throw open to them the military colleges, and offer them 
all the highest ranks in the army, without forcing them to 
carry the rifle and knapsack ; there are plenty of non- 
Mussulman Pashas in the most lucrative civil posts, and the 
most distinguished positions in the Civil Service and the 
administration of the country are open to them, so why 
should the military service form an exception? Paragraph 
9 of the same Memoir offers an apology ;* we will hope that 
it is from a sense of justice that " certaines reserves ont ete 
apportees dans 1'admission cles eleves non-Musulmans " into 
the military colleges, and not from a fear of seeing the 
beardless non -Mussulman captain lifted from the ground, 
not by the arms, but by the feet of his company of veteran 
■ Mussulmans. Perhaps the Turkish War Office may yet 
adopt our plan of substituting charreks for the regulation 
boots of rotten leather, in order to be no longer compelled 
to " limiter le nombre des officiers Chretiens appeles a y 
exercer des commandements," a change which would cer- 
tainly render the position of the non-Mussulman officer more 
bearable. 

* " Les officiers sortant de cette ecole etant appeles a former les cadres 
(Time armee composee exclusivement de soldats Musulmans, il etait neces- 
saire de limiter le nombre des officiers Chretiens appeles a y exercer des 
commandements." 



378 



TURKISH REFORMS AND REFORMERS. Chap. XXIII. 



We see by this sketch of a single point in the Memoir in 
what manner vital questions are solved, or rather eluded, 
and we limit ourselves to this one specimen, as the reader 
can, if he chooses, continue the criticism by comparing the 
document in question (although, indeed, it carries its own 
criticism with it) with this book. 

We must, however, notice slightly the organization of the 
Vilayets, "cette recente institution qui embrasse les plus 
larges et les plus importantes reformes," " fruit de longues 
etudes," &c. &c. Before doing so, however, we must render 
justice to the skilful author of the document in question, 
and admit that although the Memoir does not, in a Turkish 
point of view, solve a single important question, it is as 
regards Europe the most ample and complete, the most 
honest and true apology for the Turkish Government that 
could possibly be made. Beading this letter, which in no 
way exaggerates the favours bestowed upon the Christians, 
it is impossible to deny that all that could be done, and a 
great deal more than ought to have been done, has been 
done for them by the Ottoman Government, to the detriment 
of the Osmanli people, against all interests but those of the 
favoured race, and even to the prejudice of the Government 
itself. 

If Europe were enlightened as to the state of this country 
by able, honest, and impartial agents, this document would 
be no longer an apology, but the bitterest and most sarcastic 
criticism on European influence in Turkey ; for to those who 
know the country it says, " See, Europe, what we have done 
to gratify your unreasonable and ill-founded sympathies ; the 
country, the State itself, has been turned upside down that 
your proteges may be able to come to the surface ; we have 



Chap. XXIII. EXTREME CONCESSIONS. 



379 



given them unbounded licence in everything, from their 
religion to their pettiest wishes ; the Giaour of fifty years 
ago, the oppressed Eayah without civil or political rights, 
has become the non-Mussulman subject, he alone possesses 
rights, and he oppresses in his turn ; we have made the 
Turk the Eayah of him who was formerly the Giaour. The 
non-Mussulman subject governs himself as he pleases and 
after his own fashion, and he even governs the Turk ; not 
one of his least wishes have we left ungratified, except, 
perhaps, that of becoming commander-in-chief of the Otto- 
man armies, but even this denial is for his own good, so long- 
as the Turkish soldiers wear boots and not charreks ; the day 
on which the non-Mussulman subject prefers the bivouac of 
the camp to that in front of the Tukhan, the intoxication 
of glory to that of wine and spirits, long marches to a dolce 
far niente, and death by the sabre or the bullet to death 
by delirium tremens — on that very day his w T ish shall be 
satisfied. The non-Mussulman subject has but to say the 
word and he is appointed a civil Pasha ; for him we reform, 
for him we organize. Look around, Europe, behold your 
work, and be content, for the Eussians themselves could 
not have done more in Turkey than we have done to please 
you!" 

Compare Fuad Pasha's letter, not only with this book, for 
we have no pretensions to be the only persons who dare to 
speak the truth, but with the Eeport of Consul-General 
Longworth, or even with the majority of the Consular 
Eeports, and this satirical form will be easily appreciable. 

The organization by Vilayets, of which the Government is 
so proud, and which it only succeeded in evolving after such 
"longues etudes," is neither more nor less than a copy of 



380 



TURKISH REFORMS AND REFORMERS. Chap. XXIII. 



French, organization ; for Yilayet read Province, for Sanjak, 
Prefecture, for Caza, Sous-prefecture, and you have the 
Yilayet system before you. There are elective "Conseils 
Communaux" presided over by a Maire, who is styled Kuoi 
Chorbaji in the Rayah, villages, Mukhtiar amongst the 
Mussulmans; there are " Couseils Municipaux," also elective, 
and a " Conseil d'etat " is in process of formation ; probably 
before long the country will be blessed with a Se'nat and a 
Corps Legislatif, and then the resemblance to France will 
be complete — in all points. 

A very interesting and edifying spectacle is a debate of 
the village Medjliss, or Rayah " Conseil Communal the 
" Mairie " is the Tukhan or public-house, and " M. le Maire " 
is a being remarkable by the dirt with which he is thickly 
encrusted, and who is, moreover, three-quarters tipsy ; he is 
as uneducated as the rest of his colleagues, who differ from 
him in physical appearance only by being a little more or 
less unwashed, and a little more or less inebriated. 

The whole council is seated on the ground alia Turca, or 
lying about in any attitude they find convenient ; smoking 
and drinking go on uninterruptedly, for a Bulgarian Medjliss 
is always thirsty, and the Bakal steps over the bodies of 
prostrate honourable members to fill their glasses and give 
his opinion on the subject in question. 

The case undergoing discussion is as follows: An honest 
Turk has caught a horse-thief in flagrante delicto, and as the 
horse belongs to the village of Derekuoi he has delivered up 
thief and stolen property to the " authorities " of the village ; 
the culprit is seated in a corner of the Tukhan, drinking his 
mastica, and occasionally joining in the debate, as do also 
the village witch and various other women whom the gravity 



Chap. XXIII. 



A VILLAGE COUNCIL. 



381 



of the occurrence has attracted to the door of the public- 
house.* 

" What were we talking about ? " says M. le Maire, who 
has taken off his old sheepskin cap, and is engaged in a 
minute investigation of its recesses. 

"Kto snaje?" (who knows?) answers Yassili, pausing for 
a moment in his occupation of washing his feet with a pen- 
knife. 

"You're an idiot, Yassili ! " cries Xikolaki, his political 
opponent, an advanced Liberal who detests the old-fashioned 
Conservatism of Yassili. 

Yassili replies by some strictly unparliamentary language, 
and Xicolaki continues — 

" An idiot and nothing else ! We were talking about the 
horse, and you are too great a fool to recollect even that ! " 

Hereupon ensues a free fight ; but, as everybody has been 
drinking too freely to be able to hit out, not much damage 
is done, except that a few pipes and one of the Bakal's two 
glasses are broken ; finally, order and harmony are restored, 
and M. le Maire, who has effected an exchange of caps 
during the scuffle, recovers the thread of his discourse and 
resumes — 

" Yes, we were talking about the horse and what we are to 
do in this case " 

But what they did, or rather what they did not do, is 
related in the Chapter on Brigandage, where the reader will 
find the sequel of the story. 

The ITedjlisses of the Cazas (sous-prefectures), and even 
of the Sanjaks (prefectures), though better composed, and 



* This scene is related as it really occurred. 



332 



TURKISH REFORMS AND REFORMERS. Chap. XXIII. 



not enlivened by wine or mastica, are but little more ex- 
peditious in their deliberations, owing in a great measure 
to that chronic somnambulism of the Christian members 
which Mr. Dupuis, their chief friend amongst the English 
Consular Corps, has depicted with so much pathos and 
clearness.* 

The mixed tribunals, and a new code of law, criminal, 
civil, and commercial, are also institutions depending on the 
new organization; but in spite of them goods are bought 
and sold openly by false weights and measures, and brigand- 
age is not yet extinct in the Balkan. f 

The whole of the Vilayet system consists in the establish- 
ment of a new administrative sub-division and of various 
elective councils or tribunals, in which the non-Mussulman 
element enters largely. 

This organization would be a real boon to the country if 
the people were ready and fitted to profit by it, if non- 
Mussulman evidence were not too often false, if non-Mussul- 
man members could keep awake when other interests than 
their own are at stake, and above all if Mithat Pasha had 
been left a little longer at Eustchuk to correct its faults by 
his energy, and to venture upon reforms which are really 
needed by the country, and which his reputation would have 
enabled him to attempt. As yet, in spite of the Vilayet 
system, not one of the important questions which form the 
titles of many of our chapters has been solved, or even 
raised, and the new organization is still nothing but a name ; 



* See Consular Reports, No. VII. 

t The energy of Mithat Pasha has greatly diminished brigandage, but 
the Capitulations prevented him putting a stop to fraud. 



Chap. XXIII. 



THE VILAYETS. 



383 



on the appreciation of its principles depends the salvation of 
the empire, but if it is carried out, as seems to be intended, 
it is merely the ass's kick given to the Turkish people. 

Having thus described the Yilayet system, we cannot pass 
over in silence its originator, or rather introducer, and we 
shall therefore devote a chapter to Mithat Pasha. 



334 



MITHAT PASHA. 



Chap. XXIY. 



CHAPTEE XXIY. 

MITHAT PASHA. 

Mithat Pasha's attempted reforms — Suppression of brigandage — Secu- 
larization of education — Inspection of weights and measures — The 
Agio — Lending banks — Orphanages — Piecovery from Philorayahism. 

Mithat Pasha, the late Governor of the Vilayet, or Pro- 
vince, of the Danube, is an honest and upright man, and 
possesses a quality even more valuable than these, for he 
is energetic in times when energy seems to have deserted 
the governing classes of Turkey to take refuge amongst the 
governed. Had Mithat Pasha been allowed to prosecute his 
scheme of reform a little longer, he might have succeeded, in 
spite of Constantinople, in bringing about some definite result 
by means of experiments which he alone could venture to 
make ; but the present Government of Turkey imagine that 
perfection has been reached, and so the analytical chemist 
is ordered to turn apothecary's boy, and to serve out drugs 
which he has neither examined nor rectified. 

To men in power the organization of the Vilayets is the 
ne plus ultra of progress, and if the friends of the Eastern 
Christian are not contented with it, it is because they are 
insatiable ; but now the great chemist has departed, his box 
of chemicals, carefully locked up and minus the key, is given 
to another, and the new professor has only the right to amuse 
himself by looking at the outside ; the Vilayet of the Danube 
has ceased to be a centre of creation for reforms. 



Chap. XXIY. 



SUPPRESSION OF BRIGANDAGE. 



385 



We have said that the education of the civilized Turk 
is very incomplete, and to give it that European finish 
which is natural to the Eui^ean brain is very difficult if 
not impossible; thus, when a Turk wishes to cease to be 
a Mussulman and Osmanli, and to look at things with 
European eyes, he finds himself in a very embarrassing 
position ; for, owing to his entirely theoretical education, he 
is irresistibly impelled to mistake cause for effect, and effect 
for cause ; Mithat Pasha, though unable to avoid falling into 
this error, struggled gallantly against it, and seemed to be 
on the eve of victory when he was suddenly called upon 
to preside over the future Conseil cTJEtat * at the very 
moment when he was beginning his work of re-organization 
in earnest. 

Mithat Pasha has done much for the Vilayet of the 
Danube, and would have done more ; for he possessed both 
the energy to venture innovations, and a reputation which 
permitted him to do so unchecked by official ignorance or 
timidity. 

He began his career by a serious attack upon brigandage, 
and even ventured to hang a few brigands and to send some 
robbers to Widin ; these repressive measures were rendered 
necessary by the establishment of agricultural banks, which 

* This is a rather complicated mechanical toy, which, having been much 
admired in Paris, has lately been sent as a present to Constantinople ; the 
packers, however, either forgot to put in the works, or these were lost on 
the journey, so the clever little Turkish boys have not been able to play 
with it yet ; however, all the grandest clock-makers have been ordered to 
make a new set of works, very strong, and adapted to the climate ; these 
are not yet ready, but it is hoped they will soon be finished, and great 
expectations are formed of the Conseil d'Etat when it is once in working 
order. 



386 



MITHAT PASHA. 



Chap. XXIY. 



naturally led to the establishment of bands of thieves. He 
actually dared to treat political brigands coming to Turkey 
from other countries as common brigands, and nothing more, 
and even administered a slap to the Capitulations, a very 
gentle one, it is true, and quite within the limits of the 
law, but in time he might have learned to hit harder and 
straighter. He has dared to place himself in the path sacred 
to Eastern commerce, by creating Government agricultural 
banks, very petty banks, very foolishly contrived, and not 
very useful, but they have had the effect of ruining a few 
small bankers (every Eayah who owns a capital, stolen or 
borrowed, of ten shillings, is a banker, and lends money, 
and of this class were the victims of the agricultural banks), 
a trifling result certainly ; but in time Mithat Pasha might 
have succeeded in cutting off the other heads of the hydra. 
Mithat Pasha ventured to put obstacles in the way of Agio, 
and would one day have abolished it ; he even conceived the 
bold idea of educating the Kayahs, and wished to establish 
schools in which something else would have been taught 
than the precepts of the " Tserkierne," * and which would 
have inculcated honesty and morality; and one day he 
would have dared to enforce the one and the other, and 
perhaps even to do justice to the Turks. But Mithat Pasha 
is dead and buried in the Conseil d'Etat. Requiescat in 
pace ! 

As we have pronounced the funeral oration of his Ex- 
cellency Mithat Pasha, we will now enter a little more into 
the details of some of the institutions traced out by him. 
First in point of importance comes the question of Bulgarian 



* Russian ' Church Boohs.' 



Chap. XXIY. EDUCATION — WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. 387 



education, which, as our readers will perhaps have noticed, 
lias been rather neglected. 

Since the schism, the Bulgarians have established a few 
schools which they call National, and in which an individual 
strongly perfumed with garlic gives lessons to a dozen of the 
village children; but what does he teach them? To read 
what are called the Bulgarian characters, a strange medley 
of Piussian lay and ecclesiastical type, to know the figures of 
the Russian ecclesiastical arithmetic, which are letters, and 
finally to repeat the orthodox and imperial catechism pre- 
pared for the Bulgarian nation in books printed for this 
special purpose : this catechism teaches one great truth to 
the infant Bulgarians, that above the Sultan is God, and 
above God is the Czar. Such is the primary school : what 
do more pretentious schools teach ? What results do they 
produce but troubles, and what morality that can be ex- 
pressed otherwise than by a high figure with a minus before 
it? Hithat Pa^ha knew this perfectly well, and wished to 
secularize the schools — to secularize is the right word, for the 
education given in them is, though not religious, entirely 
ecclesiastical — but the Bulgarians refused, in spite of the 
very advantageous offers made to them ; had Mithat Pasha 
remained at his post he would have carried out this scheme 
in spite of their opposition. 

Once upon a time Hithat Pasha went so far as to order a 
verification of weights and measures by the police ; but here 
he was stopped by the Capitulations, the great protector of 
all abuses committed by foreigners ; the Consuls cried out 
with one voice, " This is an attack upon our rights, we only 
can judge or interfere in any way with our respective sub- 
jects : to allow the Turkish police to enter the shop of a 

2 c 2 



388 



MITHAT PASHA. 



Chap. XXIV. 



foreigner is to open the door to Turkish peculation and 
corruption." In the face of this refusal nothing could be 
done, and consequently false weights and measures flourish 
as they always did and always will do in Turkey. 

To abolish false weights and measures, or a fraudulent 
Agio, the prohibition and penalties must apply equally to 
all ; had Mithat Pasha punished those Turkish subjects who 
infringed the law, whilst foreigners were outside or rather 
above the law, he would but have granted a new monopoly. 
As a natural consequence that article of the Turkish Penal 
Code which punishes this species of cheating is a mere dead 
letter. 

The fraudulent Agio which exists in this country also 
attracted the attention of Mithat Pasha. An Agio on foreign 
coin exists everywhere, but in all other countries it is insigni- 
ficant,* and more or less justly regulated : in Turkey, on the 
contrary, it is enormous, and varies largely according to 
the interest of speculators, a fact which greatly injures the 
Ottoman finances. 

This is bad enough, but in what other country will you 
find an Agio upon the coin issued by Government ? 

The English and French bronze coins are only counters 
representing a nominal value, but who would dare to ask 
fifteen pence for a shilling, or twenty-five sous for a franc ? 
This, however, is what is done in Turkey : the gold pound 
(lira) is worth 100 piastres, 110 or 115 are asked for it in 
copper, and the Turkish copper has a far greater intrinsic 
value than the English or French bronze ; the silver Medjidie 



* We do not here allude to bank notes or other paper, but to current 
coin. 



Chap. XXIV. 



THE AGIO — LENDlNGr-BANKS. 



389 



is worth twenty piastres, and twenty-two are asked for it ; 
besides this, there is an Agio between gold and silver ; but 
this is not all, you buy the lira at 110, but you sell it at 105 ! 
This Agio forms the means of existence of a swarm of petty 
parasites who style themselves Serafs or bankers. 

Oriental commerce has of course seized upon this Agio 
which it has invented for its own speculations ; thus, when 
the peasants sell their corn, the lira is at 110 or 115, and is 
paid to them for their grain at this rate; but when the 
peasants come to buy, the lira has suddenly fallen to 102 or 
104 ! The peasant, too, is obliged to pay his taxes in gold 
or silver, and the Government will receive the lira only at 
100 ; not that the Government profits by this, as it gives out 
the lira at the same price that it takes it ; and as the emis- 
sion of silver is at the same rate, it in reality loses. 

Mithat Pasha wished to put a stop to these evils ; but to 
prevent the existence of Agio by decreeing that gold, silver, 
and copper should each have only their proper value, could 
be done only by the central Government, for if this were the 
case in one Yilayet alone, that province would have been 
robbed by the others of the percentage on the Agio, and 
speedily drained of all gold coin; he took then a mezzo 
termine, and prohibited the circulation of copper ; but Eastern 
commerce was too clever for him, and peculated as much as 
ever by inventing an Agio on silver ! So Mithat Pasha had 
to leave the Agio alone. 

The agricultural banks were originated in order to remedy 
another evil, usury, which was, and is, terrible and ex- 
cessive. 

In this country the peasant, that is, the one person who 
can offer a security which is worth anything, cannot raise 



390 



MITHAT PASHA. 



Chap. XXIV. 



money under 60 per cent., and often pays double that 
interest. Mithat Pasha created agricultural banks to check 
this, but he set about their formation in a very original 
mauner; he ordered every village to sow so much grain, 
and when the corn was sold,* employed the proceeds to form 
the capital of the rural bank. These banks are bound to 
lend to the peasant at 10 or 12 per cent., but it seems some- 
what unreasonable to say to the people "Pay us your money, 
and we will lend it you again at 10 or 12 per cent." 

It will give some idea of the country, and of Eastern com- 
merce, when we say that even such an absurdity as these 
banks would have been a great benefit to the country, had 
not Greeks and Rayahs contrived to slip in as clerks, &c. 
As soon as this pernicious element seized upon the agri- 
cultural banks they changed their nature and became mere 
counting-houses of a commerce carried on after the Greek 
fashion. The clerks speculate on the Agio, in grain, and in 
usury, all with the money of the peasants ; if one of the 
latter comes to ask for a loan, he is refused — '' There is 
no money, it has all been lent," and so the peasant goes 
sadly away. " Wait a bit, my friend," says a private employe 



* In other Vilayets every peasant is taxed two bushels of com per pair 
of oxen or buffaloes per annum, but though he may have paid for years, he 
cannot borrow money if he is poor ; even if he can, what does he really 
pay for it ? The peasant if he requires money, usually needs about 57. or 
500 piastres, for this he pays, at 10 per cent., 50 piastres, but as since the 
three years that these banks have been established he has paid yearly two 
bushels of corn of the value of 50 piastres, he really gives 200 piastres to 
borrow 500 for a year ! 

In justice, as the capital of the bank comes out of the peasants' own 
pocket, he ought to be able to borrow at 1 per cent., or indeed without 
paying any interest whatever. 



Chap. XXIY. 



ORPHANAGES. 



391 



of the official clerk of the agricultural bank, " if 'you want 
five pounds, I can let you have them if you will pay me seven 
at harvest time." 

The peasant needs the money, and accepts ; " But," says 
the usurer, " we will do it on the bank paper ; I will lend 
seven pounds to the bank, and you will sign a bill, for the 
bank to keep, of seven pounds payable in three months : 
come along." The peasant goes upstairs, signs the bill, 
and receives five pounds for his promise to pay seven, whilst 
the unaccredited clerk hands over to the accredited clerk 
seven pounds which in reality belong to the peasant, who, 
by-the-bye, is very lucky if he is paid in gold, and not in 
copper. 

This is what the Eayahs have made of the benevolent 
agricultural institutions of Mithat Pasha. Until there is a 
severe justice executed in the country, and the Capitulations 
cease to protect robbers of all nations, the admittance of a 
Kayah or an Eastern Christian into any undertaking, in any 
capacity, is the admittance of fraud and theft, and, still 
worse, is the ruin, physical and moral, of the undertaking, 
if it be intended as an honest one. 

Mithat Pasha, in his solicitude for the welfare of the 
provinces he ruled, and in Iris anxiety to copy everything 
good that he had seen in Europe, actually built an orphan 
asylum. 

The house was ready, the employes at their places, and the 
revenue assured by a hotel* built out of his Excellency's 
private purse, of which the profits were to be spent in keep- 
ing up this charitable establishment ; but there wasn't an 



* The Islet Khane at Biistcliuk. 



392 



MITHAT PASHA. 



Chap. XXIV. 



orphan to be found in all the country ! And for the simple 
reason that every Turkish house is a ready-made orphan's 
home, as the poorest Turk will adopt any child left at his 
door. 

However, as the asylum existed, it was necessary to give 
a reason for its existence by the presence of one or two 
children, but no foundlings were to be found; at last a 
zealous employe promised to procure a real orphan, and kept 
his word, so the asylum at last boasted of an inmate, who 
was brought up as a Christian, as he declared himself to 
be so. The philanthropic Pasha was delighted, but alas ! 
one day an individual presented himself, and claimed the 
child as being his relation. Great was the consternation, 
and many the discussions as to whether the orphan should 
be surrendered or no, but it was found that the Turkish laws 
required that he should be given up to his affectionate uncle, 
which was accordingly done amidst the tears of the whole 
establishment. But this was not quite the end ; the relative 
who had given up the orphan to the zealous employe brought 
a claim against the Pasha for the loss of his nephew's ser- 
vices as an apprentice shoemaker — and the Pasha had to 
pay ! 

We must not laugh at this rather Quixotic undertaking 
of Mithat Pasha, for he intended to benefit the country and 
there are not many Pashas of whom the same can be said. 

Cheated and deceived whenever he had anything to do 
with the Eayahs, Mithat Pasha was beginning to understand 
them, and to see the falsity of that fundamental principle of 
the Vilayets which prescribes (in Article V., if we are not 
mistaken), "that all the tribunals, offices, appointments, &c, 
shall be equally divided between Turks and Rayahs.' " 



Chap. XXIY. SCOURING THE COUNTRY. 



393 



Mithat Pasha saw that by abolishing the Chorbajis who 
held their office for life, and replacing them by Chorbajis 
who were elected for a year only, he had but increased the 
disorder without extirpating robbery or preventing the ruin of 
the Rayah villages, that ruin whose throne is the Tukhan ; 
he was recovering from the dangerous fever of Philorayahism,* 
and was already sufficiently convalescent to commence scour- 
ing the country, attended only by one or two Zaptiehs, and 
executing a summary and much-needed justice, when he was 
suddenly snatched away from his Vilayet by the inexorable 
Conseil d'Mat. Mithat Pasha is dead and buried — Resur- 
getne ? 

* Mithat Pasha had two nicknames, Gueuzluklu (spectacled) Pasha and 
Giaour Pasha, the latter heing gained by the favour which he at first 
showed to the Rayahs; latterly, however, the second name has a good 
deal fallen into disuse. 



394 THE POLITICAL PARTIES OF TURKEY. Chap. XXV. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

THE POLITICAL PARTIES OP TURKEY. 

Bulgarian politicians — The project of independence — The project of auto- 
nomy — Young Turkey — Old Turkey. 

There is perhaps no country and no capital in the world 
where there are so many political parties (many of them, it 
is true, only styled so by themselves) as in Turkey and Con- 
stantinople ; every nationality and every shade or phantom 
of a nationality constitutes itself a party, and is divided 
according to the most approved European principles into 
various sections differing in their opinions, and distinguished 
by colours, black, blue, green, or yellow. But, from the 
party of the Armenians to that of the Bulgarians, they are 
agreed upon no single point except the one which, thanks 
to their conscientious agitation, is so constantly repeated 
in Europe, that Turkey has no future before her, and can 
hope for nothing save from their magnanimous toleration 
and assistance. 

These little revolutionary parties of the divers nationalities 
under the rule of Turkey have no real force but that which 
consists in the total ignorance of Europe upon the real state 
of the country, and the misrepresentations by which Eastern 
Christianity has obtained an ill-deserved sympathy from that 
of the West ; and if the eyes of Europe were once ojDened to 
the true condition and character of the subjects of Turkey, 



Chap. XXV. 



BULGARIAN POLITICIANS. 



395 



and the action and influence of Eastern Christianity made 
widely known, the proceedings of such committees as those 
of Belgrade and Bucharest would be merely laughable, 
because they would have nothing to expect from the public 
opinion of Europe, whilst at present they are painful from 
their effects, and revolting from the audacious falsehood 
of their statements. 

It is curious and amusing to hear two gentlemen in Pera 
doing all they can to make their language incomprehensible 
to one another by torturing Eussian into all sorts of im- 
possible forms, and making the bystanders believe that they 
are talking Bulgarian. Both of them understand Eussian 
thoroughly ; but this comedy is not without design, and pro- 
duces the desired effect, for the wonder-struck Perotes repeat, 
and the newspapers publish, that "yesterday, at such and 
such a place, two of the most eminent Bulgarian politicians 
(or literary men) had an interview which in the present 
crisis is not without its signification." What neither the 
Perotes nor the journalists know is, that the two eminent 
Bulgarians are in reality two Eussian Vice-Consuls of two 
tumble-down little towns somewhere in Bulgaria. 

Eich Bulgarians there certainly are, remarkable by the 
glossiness of their clothes, by ear-rings, and by half-a-dozen 
rings on each finger, but perhaps the most eminent literary 
man of the nationality is a Choban of our acquaintance who 
has composed and set to music (to the gaida, of course) a 
threnodia on the death of one of his herd of pigs; as for 
politicians, they may be judged by their works, which chiefly 
consist in magniloquent incendiary proclamations written at 
Pera and printed at Bucharest. 

These Bulgarian proclamations form a good example, by 



396 



THE POLITICAL PAETIES OF TURKEY. Chap. XXV. 



their respective effects in this country and in Europe, of the 
difference between the true state of affairs as it exists in 
Turkey, and the false ideas conveyed to foreign nations; all 
these inflated pamphlets and terrible threats excite Europe, 
affect even the Funds, and are the cause of various sapient 
diplomatic notes from the great Powers to the Porte, who 
orders the mobilization of the Eeserve, at great expense to 
the exchequer and still greater loss to agriculture and the 
poor Turkish peasant, and grants a new concession to 
the Christians in addition to the previous 750. But Bulgaria 
does not share this alarm, and the Turk, confident in his 
own courage and the cowardice of the Bay ah, goes to 
his work in the fields humming an "Aman;" the Bayah 
drinks his wine and mastic as usual, listens with many 
signs of the cross (to prove that he is a Christian) to the 
emissary who reads the proclamation of the represent- 
atives of the oppressed, but in his heart he thinks, "not 
if I know it." 

A Bulgarian revolution, or even serious agitation, is im- 
possible without the consent, and even aid, of the Turkish 
Government, and the presence of a large Bussian army in 
these provinces; not, as certain newspapers affirm, because 
the Bayahs are devoted to the Sultan, but because they are 
cowards. A Bulgarian, even when drunk, will never dare 
to lift his hand against a Turk unless the latter is disarmed 
and wounded, and even then only if there are a dozen 
Bussians ready to back him ; and if those who have formerly 
seen the Bayahs commit nameless atrocities under the pro- 
tection of a foreign invasion hope the same results from the 
present agitation, they are, thank Heaven! mistaken; the 
Bulgarians will never renew the scenes of 1827, and the eyes 



Chap. XXV. 



THE PROJECT OF INDEPENDENCE. 



397 



of their disinterested friends will never again be gladdened by 
the pleasing spectacle of old men, women, and children burnt 
alive,* so long as Russia remains a peaceable spectator on 
the other side of the Pruth, for the Rayah's valour only 
appears when it is rendered perfectly unnecessary by the 
presence of powerful allies. 

The Armenians, the Greeks, and the Servians, have a 
history, the Bulgarians have none,| but does the possession 
of a history constitute a nation or a people ? One example 
is sufficient; Europe took up the cause of the modern and 
(Eastern) Christian Greeks on account of their very doubtful 
descent from the ancient and pagan Greeks ; the result 
is — Modern Greece; but not content with the triumphant 
success of this experiment, she hit upon the brilliant idea 
of autonomy, and created Servia and the Moldo-W allachian 
Provinces ! 

There is now some talk of conferring this latter benefit 
upon Bulgaria, but it never will be conferred, for the 
Turkish people have had enough of hostile autonomies and 
will tolerate no extension of the system ; as, however, this 
is one of the questions in which Europe is interested at 
the present moment, it may be worth while to examine it. 

The Bulgarian agitators are divided into two parties, both 
tending to one common object, the spoliation of Turkey ; of 
these, one, hatched under the wings of the Russian eagle, sees 
no chance of salvation for the Slavonic Rayah save in revolu- 



* In 1827 more than 2000 old men, women, and children (Turks) were 
burned alive in the village of Akdere alone by the Bulgarians, whilst a 
Kussian corps d'armee looked on. 

f The Bulgarian Rayahs are the descendants of the serfs of the old 
Bulgarian nobility, which was exterminated by the Turks. 



398 



THE POLITICAL PARTIES OF TURKEY. 



Chap. XXV. 



tion and a separation, by force of arms, of the Balkan and the 
plains between that chain and the Danube from Turkish 
rule. This party talks loudly of war, massacre, and revenge 
for centuries of oppression, but it will do no more than 
threaten unless Kussia risks a war against the Porte ; we 
say "risks a war" because in Kussia there exists a hostile 
element widely different from the subjected races of Turkey, 
a nationality which has proved its rights by courage and by 
martyrdom, and a national spirit which, unaided from without, 
lately shook the foundations of Kussian rule during nearly 
three years, and forced the victor to revenge himself. If 
a child strikes a strong man, he does not "revenge himself," 
except perhaps in some such manner as would suffice for 
the vengeance of Turkey upon her naughty children in Bul- 
garia, and which need not exceed a wholesome use of the 
birch rod; but Russia has thought it necessary to ruin a whole 
people, and to redden her scaffolds and her dungeons with 
Polish blood to avenge herself for the insurrection of Poland. 

If, then, in the case of Turkey being attacked by Russia, 
the Sultan, unaided by those so-called friends whose assist- 
ance has generally done nothing more than envenom the 
question at issue, appealed to his people, and, following 
the example set by his enemy, availed himself of an un- 
friendly nationality in the midst of Russia to permit the 
white eagle of Poland to accompany the crescent, what 
chance would Russia have if an army of only 100,000 Turks 
seconded an insurrection such as that of 1863 ? 

These questions of nationality are like double-edged tools, 
dangerous to play with, and resemble the proverbial stick 
" with two ends." 

If Russia is wise, she will leave Turkey alone, for there 



Chap. XXV. THE PROJECT OF AUTONOMY. 399 

may not always be found traitors amongst the Pashas nor 
heroes amongst the Bulgarians, whilst there will always be 
Poles in Poland and Turks in Turkey. 

The other Bulgarian party takes the hint given by the 
Eastern policy of France, which consists in advocating 
national autonomies, demanding unlimited concessions from 
the central Government, and strongly recommending liberty 
and equality; acting upon this system, the second party 
proclaims loudly and constantly, through its organ, a news- 
paper printed at Constantinople in French, the unalterable 
loyalty of the Bulgarians to the Sultan, and endeavours to 
prove to Europe at large that it is owing to the efforts of 
its members that the great Bulgarian nation perseveres 
in its fidelity to Turkey, and that to this fidelity the Otto- 
man empire is indebted for its present existence. As a 
recompense for so much devotion, it demands merely a Bul- 
garian autonomy, declaring that "Bulgaria, free and inde- 
pendent, but owning H.I.M. the Sultan as its suzerain, will 
always be faithful to him, and like Eoumania (!) will repel 
Muscovite influence," &c. Such, neither more nor less, is 
its programme. 

The slight difficulty caused by the presence of some 
millions of Mussulmans in Bulgaria seems to be as com- 
pletely ignored by the authors of this ingenious plan as it 
is by Europe in general ; but, nevertheless, this obstacle is 
sufficient to render the success of the project impossible, 
as it is hardly likely that the Turks will consent to a 
wholesale migration, and, although unrepresented at Con- 
stantinople, they have sufficient strength in their own pro- 
vinces to prevent Bulgaria ever becoming a second Servia; 
for this reason the party of which we are speaking would 



400 



THE POLITICAL PARTIES OF TURKEY. 



Chap. XXV. 



infallibly collapse if the " friends " of Turkey would leave 
that empire to itself, or even if they really desired the wel- 
fare of all its inhabitants " without distinction of religion or 
of race." 

The Christian subjects of the Sultan have already obtained 
all that, and even more than, they can in justice demand ; 
now the Mussulmans begin to ask that some attention should 
be paid to their claims, and hence has arisen the gradual 
formation, amongst the Turks themselves, of various parties 
of reform which, however (with the exception of that of 
"Old Turkey"), have as yet, unfortunately, neither settled 
convictions nor a definitive plan of action, and are con- 
sequently powerless for the present, although the day is 
approaching when the destinies of Turkey will be in their 
hands. 

These parties are numerous, and agree only in the well- 
founded conviction that Turkey, ill-governed, and on the 
high road to ruin, must effect sensible and radical reforms 
if she wishes to avert her entire destruction ; but what is 
to be reformed, or how the necessary reforms are to be 
carried out, is still a blank in their programmes. 

There are of course the two parties to be found in all 
organized States, the "ins" and the "outs," both of whom 
the Sultan has criticized in the words "they promise; and 
that is all;" what they promise is civilization and progress. 
The Ministers, addressing themselves to Europe, say " We are 
doing all in our power to civilize ; " the opposition say, " But 
we could do better," and the end of either party is merely 
the retention of or attainment to power. 

Besides these, there is another party whose head-quarters 
are not in Turkey ; this consists of Turkish political exiles 



Chap. XXV. 



YOUNG TURKEY. 



401 



who, adopting the system in favour with refugees from 
European States, can find no better weapon than per- 
sonalities with which to attack the Government, and no 
other political programme than such vague Utopias as are 
in fashion amongst the unhappy class to which they belong, 
whose members regenerate Europe and decide the destiny 
of a country between a couple of cigarettes in a Leicester 
Square cafe ; by means of a newspaper printed in London 
on rose-tinted paper, and largely, though privately, circulated 
at Constantinople, this party has, it is said, excited the anger 
of the Sultati against a Minister of great talent on whom 
they have made a virulent personal attack, but who has 
cleared himself most successfully from their accusations. 
These persons cannot have the least chance of doing any 
good to Turkey, since they err in the same manner as those 
they accuse, and are equally ignorant of the real grievances 
of the country as of the remedies to be applied ; we do not 
deny their patriotism any more than that of the present 
Ministry, but we are constrained to admit that the ideas of 
the one party are as powerless as the efforts of the other 
to open a new and prosperous era for Turkey. 

The above parties take the generic name of "Young 
Turkey," and their policy may be compared to that of the 
liberals in England; whilst "Old Turkey" represents the ex- 
tinct English Tories. 

Having said enough upon the action of Young Turkey, 
we will sketch its principles ; these, like the ideas of the 
present Ministry, consist in advocating a copy of French 
institutions, varying, it is true, from absolutism to absolute 
democracy, but always keeping to a French model; mis- 
taking effect for cause, they imagine that by building 

2 D 



402 



THE POLITICAL PARTIES OF TURKEY. Chap. XXY. 



seven-storied houses of pretentious architecture, and dressing 
the army as Zouaves, or by proclaiming the principle of 
universal suffrage and the civil rights of the citizen, they 
will at once change Turkey into France and Turks into 
Frenchmen. 

The one party forgets that civilization, arising from the 
requirements of a people, cannot be established by a decree, 
like a new street or a new uniform ; the other, that the 
Turks have neither the same aspirations nor the same class 
of ideas as the peoples of Europe, and least of all as the 
French ; quote to a Turk of the country Prudhon's well- 
known maxim, " La propriSte cest le vol," and he will tell 
you that it is just by the application of this principle that 
the foreign trader grows rich, and that the Eayah holds 
lands which belonged to his (the Turk's) ancestors. 

In Europe certain social questions exist which are entirely 
unknown in Turkey, but nevertheless everybody seems to 
think that they ought to exist, takes their existence for 
granted, and agitates accordingly. 

The youth of Turkey educated in France (we do not here 
allude to the vast majority whose only study is fashionable 
vice, but to the few who have endeavoured to make the 
most of their, opportunities and talents) having merely 
gone through a course of study unsupplemented by the 
practical appreciation of the life of a citizen in a civilized 
country, know nothing of France except as represented by 
the student world, and import into Turkey ideas in vogue 
in the Quartier Latin but impossible in practice, ideas emanat- 
ing from young brains and hearts rilled with good and noble 
feelings but unpractical as the principles they profess. 
Arrived at Constantinople, these young men struggle, or 



Chap. XXV. 



OLD TURKEY. 



403 



fancy they struggle, against the current for a time, then, 
yielding to it, accept some Government appointment. 

Young Turkey preaching a Parliamentary system of un- 
limited liberty, the Government decreeing civilization alia 
Franca and progress according to law ; each party preaching 
or acting against the two principles most sacred to the 
Turkish people, the religion of Mahomet, and Ottoman 
nationality — what wonder that the one is not more listened 
to than the other is obeyed ! 

The letter of Prince Moustapha Fazyl Pasha to the Sultan, 
in spite of the laconic criticism of his Majesty ("deli," "a 
madman ") contained by chance a vital and important ques- 
tion, that of military service. This letter has been read, 
and has produced a certain effect amongst the Turks of 
the country, but if you ask them what they think of the 
plan proposed by the Prince for the regeneration of Turkey, 
all, from the Bey or Hodja to the Choban, will answer in the 
words of the Sultan, "the man is mad." 

Young Turkey is powerless because it falls back upon 
the democracy of the Quartier Latin and seeks no assist- 
ance from the strong arms and stout hearts of the Osmanli 
people. 

Old Turkey, of which the majority of the members belong 
to the Ulema, and which unfortunately numbers a few 
fanatics amongst its ranks, is in reality the only party with 
which the Ministry, backed though it be by all the em- 
bassies, must needs come to an account; for though the 
Sultan's voyage to Europe was hardly in accordance with 
the wish of the Grand Mufti, his Majesty was at least obliged 
to obtain from him a Fetva in toleration if not in approval of 
the journey. Through this party only is there a chance for 

2 d 2 



404 



THE POLITICAL PARTIES OF TURKEY. Chap. XXY. 



Turkey, but unhappily it is more than conservative, it is 
retrogressive, and though the old state of things may have 
been in some respects better than the new, it is impossible to 
return to it. The Beys, Timars, and Ziamets are ruined, 
and their fiefs destroyed beyond the possibility of recon- 
struction ; the Turkey of Mahomet II. is fallen, never again 
to rise to the same pinnacle of power; new laws, good or 
bad, are in force, and must remain so, but Old Turkey is 
still able to better the condition of the country, to save 
it from total destruction and to revive some species of justice 
in the land, if this party make a proper use of its influence 
and position. 

Might not the Mufti say, " Padischah ! you have despoiled 
the Ulema, create order amongst the Greek Clergy; you 
have ruined the Turks, tax the Eayahs as well ; robbery is 
contrary to the law of God and the Prophet, abolish Eastern 
commerce ; the whole world will be against you, but the 
Prophet has said ' When the world is in arms against you, 
on that day shall you fight and conquer in the name of 
God and of the law.' " 

The gravest questions might thus be submitted to the 
Sultan, who is not only a just but a brave man, and if this 
were done Turkey might with reason hope something from 
the Tories of Turkey ; and such bold champions of* their 
country's cause would have nothing to fear, for there is not 
a heart amongst the brave Turkish people, or even amongst 
the European lovers of justice, which would not go with them 
in the great work of doing that justice which is one of the 
attributes of God himself. 



Chaf. XXVI. 



THE CAUSE OF HUMANITY. 



405 



CHAPTEE XXVI. 

COMPAEISON BETWEEN THE BULGARIAN "RAYAH AND THE 

TUEK. 

The cause of humanity — Sham civilization — Bad material in the Bayah 
— Good material in the Turk of the country — Constantinople a school 
of vice — Discipline for the Eayah — Self-defence. 

Haylng already depicted both Turk and Eayah conscienti- 
ously and truly, though in veiy different colours from those 
used for the purpose in Europe, we ask permission to glance 
at the Eastern Question as it is seen by attentive observers 
who have studied it in its birthplace, and lived with and 
amongst the two races whose cause is being now judged 
by the tribunals of the West, and who have not formed 
any opinions but such as are based upon and supported by 
facts of which they have a personal knowledge. 

This question presents itself under three distinct phases : — 

1. As a pretext for aggression leading to territorial aggran- 
disement ; this is the view taken by Eussia. 

2. As a political expedient, Turkey in her disorganized 
state being used as a counter to incline the balance in 
favour of him who can make the best use of her weakness ; 
this is the view taken by certain Powers calling themselves 
the friends of Turkey. 

3. As a serious question affecting the cause of humanity, 
of civilization, and of progress ; this is the view taken by 



406 COMPARISON BETWEEN RAYAH AND TURK. Chap. XXVI. 



public opinion as represented by honest men of all nations, 
and is also the political thema upon which temporizing or 
aggressive statesmen execute their most brilliant variations, 
profiting by the general ignorance of the true state of things 
and the perversion of public opinion, which has formed its 
conclusions on falsehoods which by dint of continual repeti- 
tion have attained the dignity of axioms. 

In other chapters we have touched upon the first two 
phases, and shall now occupy ourselves only with the third, 
which, as it is now handled by the skilful artificers who are 
engaged upon its manufacture for the foreign market, is in 
reality more dangerous to — we will not repeat that hackneyed 
phrase, " the dignity of the Ottoman empire," but — the cause 
of civilization, humanity, and progress throughout the whole 
world, than the Eussian bayonet, or even the mania for 
reforms and innovations fashionable amongst the statesmen 
of the present day, inasmuch as on it depends the verdict of 
the civilized world upon this question. 

We have been asked, what would become of the fragments 
of Turkey if once the Ottoman empire ceased to exist ; but 
we have never heard the infinitely more important question, 
what would become of the chances of civilizing the East if 
the Turkish element ceased to exist, or even if it were 
modified by the vague ideas of vague reformers ? 

To these questions we reply Somatically. 

Is civilization based upon the material progress of a 
country? Certainly not, for it is but the outward sign of 
the strong vivacity and powerful constitution of society. 

In what then does civilization consist, and what is its indis- 
pensable principle ? 

In our opinion it is this powerful organization and tena- 



Chap. XXVI. SHAM CIVILIZATION. 407 

cious vivacity which form the only fruitful germ of real 
progress ; all civilization grafted upon a society of which 
the foundations are unstable, or which is corrupt at heart, 
and unguided by a healthy and practical public morality, 
can be but superficial, and will produce no results tending 
to the advance of the human race towards that goal which 
is marked out for it, and which is general amelioration or 
progress. 

When it is once admitted (and it is difficult to deny) that 
where no strongly organized society and no practical public 
morality exist, and where the population is brutish and 
idle, no civilization useful to humanity can spring up — the 
Eastern Question is at once solved, as far as its third phase 
is concerned. 

Even the mere tourist who has passed through Kussia, 
whirled along by a locomotive manufactured in one of the 
great centres of European industry, has surely not been 
able to help observing that the civilization he sees around 
him is exotic and assimilates ill with the country itself; the 
Mougick in a railway carriage is an anomaly. The gold 
laced uniforms of Wallachia or the brilliant toilettes of the 
ladies of St. Petersburg are equally out of place, and we 
wonder at the presence of the French k6pi or the Parisian 
salon so many hundred miles from France. 

Those who know Eussia with the experience of years can 
easily account for the new institutions which seem to be 
destined always to remain foreign to the true nature of the 
country, and it is not necessary to remember the old muddy 
roads nor the perekladnyje, the Post Britschkas which travelled 
along them, to know that the railroad is there not in answer 
to the wants of the country, but by virtue of an ukase. 



408 COMPARISON BETWEEN RAYAH AND TURK. Chap. XXVI. 



If we examine the populations which inhabit Turkey, and 
submit them to such a powerful test as the question of their 
respective adaptability to civilization, it is difficult to avoid 
giving a verdict very different from that which has hitherto 
been pronounced in Europe upon false testimony or none 
at all. 

Taking the Bulgarian Eayah as we have painted him 
from the life, brutish, obstinate, idle, superstitious, dirty, 
sans foi ni loi — in short, the degraded being amongst whom 
we have dwelt so long, and for the accuracy of whose 
picture we hold ourselves responsible — can any one say 
that he is capable of being civilized without a long and 
difficult course of preparation ? 

If we take the well-to-do classes, we fall into the gulf 
of Oriental commerce, and if the civilization which these 
gentlemen are supposed to call for so loudly were suddenly 
to appear amongst them followed by a figure bearing a 
balance and a sword, many of them would be compelled 
to exchange their counting-houses and their cafes for the 
less luxurious abode of a prison. 

Not knowing much of the mass of the Armenian people, 
and not having studied them in their own country, we can 
pronounce no opinion upon them; for their own sakes we 
trust they are better than the other Christians of the East ; 
as for the Greek Eayah, he is, unfortunately even worse than 
the Bulgarian. 

If the Rayah be as we have described him, how is it 
possible to plant any genuine civilization in such a soil, 
and what element can we find fitted to receive it ? 

Such an element is to be found amongst the Turks alone ; 
not the kid-gloved loungers in official ante-rooms, but the 



Chap. XXVI. THE TUKK OF THE COUNTRY. 409 



Turkish peasantry, who not only believe in the doctrines 
but practise the precepts of their creed, whose word is 
ten thousand times more valuable than the bond of the 
Rayah. The Turks of the country possess all the force, 
vitality, and uprightness of character necessary to form a 
basis for a national civilization; for Turkey can boast of 
an element which is entirely wanting in Russia and in those 
nationalities which have been detached from the parent stem 
of the Ottoman empire, a vigorous and honest people who 
would be always ready and able to aid the right and 
to punish any violation of the principles of true justice. 
Western Europe, after long years of struggle, has obtained 
a public morality such as is innate in the Turkish peasantry, 
and she has been obliged to create an organized force to 
protect the first basis of society, property and family ; the 
police has been formed in Europe, it exists ready made 
amongst the Turks of the country.* 

Granting that the "civilized Turks" are incapable of 
civilization, the " uncivilized Turks " are already in a great 
measure civilized by nature, by instinct, and even by taste. 
But to civilize Turkey this element must be used as an aid, 
and no attempt made to destroy it; the Turkish peasants 
ask for nothing better than to have civilization introduced 
among them, but they have the right to demand that the 
new system shall be opposed neither to their religion, their 
habits, nor their customs, and they will not be induced to 
co-operate in the great work if they find that insults are 
lavished upon all these three. 



* See, for instance, the history of Kara Kostia in the Chapter on 
Brigandage. 



410 COMPARISON BETWEEN RAYAH AND TURK. Chap. XXVI. 

How is it possible for the village Turk to think well of 
a civilization under whose auspices Greek and Eayah traders 
buy and sell with false weights and measures unpunished, and 
false witness is admitted in the mixed tribunals of the towns ? 

Another serious question now arises, whether or no Islamism 
is compatible with civilization. 

This point has been often discussed, and even Fuad Pasha 
appears inclined to think that the two are compatible ; as 
for us, we are of opinion that a religion which produces such 
fruits as that of Mahomet is quite as fit to serve as the 
basis of civilization as that faith which condemned the dis- 
coverer of the earth's rotation.* 

The Hoclja will not deny an astronomical truth, nor would 
he have condemned the disciple of Copernicus, but he will 
certainly stigmatize the ingenious inventor of a corn measure 
with a sliding bottom. 

See with what eagerness the Turkish villagers, from the 
Hodja to the Ohoban, will flock round you as you speak 
of the great conquests of science over the realms of space, 
or that bold calculation by which Leverrier, armed with the 
single weapon of reasoning, wrested a planet from the void 
of the unknown ; you would almost think that they were 
listening to the history of Amurath II., or Sultan Selim the 
Gentleman, and you feel that your audience have almost as 
much interest in science as love for their country; unfor- 
tunately the weapons necessary to enable them to benefit 
either are wanting. 

* Of course no comparison is intended between Islamism and Christi- 
anity proper, but between Islamism and such spurious Christianity as 
alone is practically taught in the East, and therefore alone comes in 
question. 



Chap. XXVI. 



DISCIPLINE FOR THE KAYAH. 



411 



If at the colleges of Constantinople something better were 
taught than depravity of conduct and a contempt for their 
own religion and all others, how many Turks would be 
anxious to drink at the pure springs of learning! As it 
is the surrounding mud keeps them away. 

Some days since, a friend said to us, "I shall send my 
son to England, to study in London." (The son he alluded 
to is an intelligent, bright little fellow of eleven years old, 
who can already read and write eleven different Turkish 
writings). 

"Why not to Constantinople?" 

" Because there he would learn to despise his religion and 
his country." 

" But are you not afraid that in England he might be con- 
verted to Christianity?" 

"Listen, Dostum (my friend) ; I would rather see my son 
a really good Christian and an honest man, than a Constan- 
tinople Turk alia Franca and a Pasha." 

It is a great misfortune that the Turkish reformers do not 
seek the aid of this honest and upright element, and perhaps 
a still greater that it does not assert its rights ; its present 
silence is, however, caused by a consciousness of its own 
strength, and if the lion once puts forth his power he will 
do so to some purpose : to the chain of a national civilization 
he will submit willingly, any other he will break through as 
easily as if it were a spider's web. 

With this element, then, civilization of the East is not 
only possible but easy, for with an Osmanli police force it 
will be possible to civilize even the Bayah ; change his 
clergy, make severe laws which will teach him that robbery 
is a crime, and prove practically that crime is punished, 



412 COMPARISON BETWEEN RAYAH AND TURK. Chap. XXVI. 



which last may be done by the assistance of the Turkish 
people, and civilization will spring up and grow without the 
necessity of forcing it in the alia Franca hotbeds of Con- 
stantinople whose foundation is — that of most hotbeds. 

But here intervenes another question, that of the force 
necessary to do this ; an honest man will never be able to 
do honest good to Turkey until two millions of Turkish 
bayonets are ready to support the just cause of infant civiliza- 
tion from the enemies, and even from the friends, of the 
Sultan ; for until a Prime Vizier can answer a Kussian Bom- 
bastes Furioso or Menchikoff by a million of rifle balls, or 
a Western Doctor Sangrado by a statement of the forces 
of his Imperial Majesty the Sultan, civilization will never 
develope itself nor even germinate in Turkey, and statesmen 
will go on reforming and deforming without any effect but 
that of producing a sanguinary intestine conflict. 

For the good of Turkey, and the world, let Europe study 
this country, and then judge it, but not on the evidence of 
Philhellenic tourists or newspapers. 



EiVED. 





A pp. A. 



( 413 ) 



APPEND I X. 



APPENDIX A. 

On the first Sunday after Easter (1868) there was a betrothal in this 
village, celebrated as usual by unlimited dancing and drinking ; about mid- 
night some young men, by no means sober, commenced firing loaded guns 
and pistols, an ordinary accompaniment of any festivity in the East. One 
of them, in drawing a pistol from his belt, accidentally touched the trigger, 
and the charge of buck-shot was lodged in the thigh of a youth standing 
about three paces from him. Next morning we were asked to come and 
cure the wounded man, but, having none of the necessary surgical imple- 
ments, we declined to interfere in so serious a case, and strongly recom- 
mended the removal of the patient to the hospital at Varna : we were told, 
however, that the Medjliss or Council of the village had assembled, and 
decided that he was not to be taken to Varna, whereupon we made an 
appeal to the feelings of his mother, representing that her son's life was in 
danger ; her answer was that " whether he lived or died he should not 
go out of the village." An hour or two later another messenger came to 
inform us that a " Hekim " (doctor) had passed through the village, and 
promised to effect a cure if we would come and watch his proceedings : on 
enquiry we found that this " doctor " was a mere peasant, who had already 
commenced his treatment by bleeding the patient in the thigh and in the 
mouth ! Of course we declined to give the sanction of our presence to this 
kind of surgery, for which we had no power of substituting a proper system. 
At this date (May 7th) the wounded man is still under the care of the 
" Hekim " (whose fee is 51.), but as none of the buck-shot have been 
extracted, and the hot weather seems to have set in definitively, gangrene 
may very possibly intervene and carry off the poor fellow. 

We learned afterwards that the reason of the interference of the Medjliss 
was that they feared an official enquiry into the affair at Varna, which 
might result in the arrest of the man who fired the pistol, and even a 
general confiscation of the fire-arms of the village, as Turkish subjects have 
(nominally) no right to possess arms without a Government license. 

For the sake of the young man, we had the affair represented to the 
authorities at Varna, urging the necessity of his being sent to the hospital 



414 



APPENDIX. 



App. B. C. 



there, but as yet no notice has been taken of the occurrence, and it is very 
doubtful whether the Conac will act in the matter, although it involves a 
breach of Turkish law. 



APPENDIX B. 

The real origin of the Bulgarian "sins" is probably pagan, although the 
people say " It is the custom : the Papas says so ;" but at any rate, since they 
must be confessed to the priest, the clergy cannot be ignorant of them, and 
even if they have not originated they at least sanction and tolerate these 
superstitions. 



APPENDIX C. 
Ballad of Deli Marko and Philip Junak, in Bulgarian. 



[This poem is given in Polish characters, as those assigned by Russia to the 
very scanty and altogether modern literature of Bulgaria would probably 
be difficult to procure in England^] 



FILIP JUNAK I DELI MAKKO. 

Pochwalil sia Filip Junak 

Hej Kulada moj Kulada ! 
Po siedanki na pred mumita, 

Hej Kulada moj Kulada ! 
Po bielanki na pred bulkite, 

Hej Kulada moj Kulada ! 
Na Tukanie pred mumcy, 

Hej Kulada moj Kulada ! 

Swierdzyl try Zmieje. 

Hej Kulada, &c. 
Gdie go zaczyt Deli Marko, 

Hej Kulada, &c. 
To je go zatresi * 

Hej Kulada, &c. 



* Here there seems to be a word missing. 



FILIP JUNAK I DELI MARKO. 

Po siedanki na pred mumita, 

Hej Kulada, &c. 
Po bielanki na pred bulkite, 

Hej Kulada, &c. 
Na Tukanie pred mumcy. 

Hej Kulada, &c. 

Czy mu kaza mumcy. 

Hej Kulada, &c. 
"Grdie siede Filip Junak?" 

Hej Kulada, &c. 

" Toj siede tarn ua gore 

Hej Kulada, &c. 

Zrysrty slonca 

Hej Kulada, &c. 

Zymzyr party." 

Hej Kulada, &c. 
Czy sty utidie Deli Marko. 

Hej Kulada, &c. 

I Filip Junaka Konacy 

Hej Kulada, &c. 

Deli Marko namiery, 

Hej Kulada, &c. 

Kak go namiery j powika 

Hej Kulada, &c. 
Deli Marko powika i za Lopota 

Hej Kulada, &c. 
Filip J unak zymzyr porty nie otory ; 

Hej Kulada, &o. 

Czy siergnal Deli Marko. 

Hej Kulada, &c. 
Filip Junaka zymzyr porty, 

Hej Kulada, &c. 
Czy si 9 ryknal Demir porty, 

Hej Kulada, &c. 
Czy sie, freknal na sine niebo, 

Hej Kulada, &c. 
Kak to gie ryknal Deli Marko, 

Hej Kulada, &c. 
Czy sie w Tazi Deli Marko 

Hej Kulada, &c. 

Na Filipowy Konacy. 

Hej Kulada, &c. 

Filip Junak nie izlezi, 

Hej Kulada, &c. 



APPENDIX. 

Filipica izlezi. 

Hej KuTada, &c. 

Szyszty Deli Marko zlezi. 

Hej KuTada, &c. 

Na stroma z ima kita, 

Hej KuTada, &c. 

Czy je zie Deli Marko. 

Hej KuTada, &c. 
Tuga sie zlezi Filip Junak, 

Hej KuTada, &c. 
Czy plesnal vecy do Sobora 

Hej KuTada, &c. 

UTowili sia da se bora 

Hej KuTada, &c. 
Z Deli Marko Filip Junak. 

Hej KuTada, &c. 
Czy go uTowr Deli Marko, 

Hej KuTada, &c. 

Filip Junaka uTowi. 

Hej KuTada, &c. 
Czy go swerdzi reca na zad, 

Hej KuTada, &c. 
Deli Marko — Czy go powiedi 

Hej KuTada, &:c. 

Po siedanki pred muroita, 

Hej KuTada, &c. 
" Ty to Filip Junak die to sofali, 

Hej KuTada, &e. 
" Pred rnumity na siedanki, 

Hej KuTada, &c. 
" Gdie ty swierdiT try Zmieje ? " 

Hej KuTada, &c. 
Tarn go zie czy go zawiedie 

Hej KuTada, &c. 

Na bielanki pred bulki, 

Hej KuTada, &c. 
Czy go pyta "Tysli, Filip Junak, 

Hej KuTada, &c. 

" Gdie to zachwali 

Hej KuTada, &c. 
" Czy swardow dor try Zrnieje ? " 

Hej KuTada, &c. 
I od tam go zie Deli Marko, 

Hej KuTada, &c. 



App. D. E. FILIP JUNAK I DELI MARKO. 417 

Czy go zawio na Tukany, 

Hej Kulada, &c. 
Na Tukany pred mumityty 

Hej Kulada, &c. 

Czy go pyta Deli Marko, 

Hej Kulada, &c. 

" Tos li, Filip Junak, 

Hej Kulada, &c. 
" Die to si^ zachali po Tukan 

Hej Kulada, &c. 
" Az sie zwierdzil dor try zmieje ?" 

Hej Kulada, &c. 
Filip Junak se moli, na Deli Marko, 

Hej Kulada, &c. 
" Pusti mnie, Deli Marko ! " 

Hej Kulada, &c. 
Deli Marko ni pusti Filip Junak 

Hej Kulada, &c. 

Me pustil. Obwiesil. 

Hej Kulada moj Kulada. 



APPENDIX D. 

This same monk, Padre D., a most excellent man and true Christian, 
whose life is spent in deeds of self-abnegation and charity, said to us : " I 
have lived many years in the East, and I assure you that I have seen the 
Christian name so uniformly profaned by its professors that when I hear 
any one in the street say of me 4 That is a Christian,' old man and Cappu- 
cino monk as I am, I feel inclined to go up and hit him with my stick." 



APPENDIX E. 

MONSIGNOE BENEDICTOS. 

(" Corresjportdance particuliere du 1 Courrier d? Orient. 1 ) 

11 Monastie, 25 decembre. 
"Nos affaires avec M. Be'nedictos s'embrouillent de plus en plus, et son 
renvoi d'ici est maintenant tout au moins problematique. On lui reproche 

2 E 



418 



APPENDIX. 



App. E. 



des actes qui nie'ritent l'interdiction de toutes fonctions eccle^iastiques, mais 
il a de l'argent. 

" D'abord son affaire allait assez mal, non parce qu'on avait mauvaise 
opinion de lui, mais parce qu'il est d'une extreme avarice et qu'il ne recon- 
naissait pas dignement les services rendus. A ce propos je puis dire que si 
Mgr. Benedictos a 6t6 chiclie envers . . . il n'a pas ete ge*nereux envers les 
pauvres d'ici. 

" Le voila installs ici depuis quinze ou seize ans. De l'aveu de personnes 
en dtat de connaitre ce que rapportent Yaffermage des monasteres et des 
paroisses, les permis de manages et de divorces, Yodzek ou impot sur les 
families, etc., etc., Sa Grandeur ne ramasse annuellement pas moins de 
700,000 piastres : supposez maintenant qu'il depense chaque anne'e 200 
mille piastres, il ne lui reste pas moins de 500 mille piastres par an, soit 8 
millions pour les 16 amides. Et pourtant, chose cruelle a dire ! malgre la 
misere qui nous entoure en ville et la pauvrete qui regne dans les villages, 
on ne l'a jamais vu donner cinq paras a nn pauvre. 

" Son affaire allait done mal, meme tres mal, s'il faut en croire le rapport 
de nos premiers delegues, et cela non pas qu'aux yeux du patriarcat ce 
fut un archeveque peu honorable, mais parce qu'il gardait trop pour lui. 
Toutefois, menace d'etre honteusement renvoye d'ici, lui qui avait brigue le 
patriarcat, il voulut en savoir la cause ; il lui fut, m'assure-t-on, repondu 
ou insinue, qu'un seul parti lui restait : celui d'ouvrir sa bourse. 

u D'ailleurs, lui aurait-on fait observer, les de'penses occasionnees par T'envoi 
d'exarques doivent etre supportees par ceux qui perdront. Voyez done s'il ne 
vaut pas mieux donner pour gagner votre cause ce que vous donneriez en 
la perdant. 

" L'avis dtait bon, et Mgr. Be'nedictos passe, a tort ou a raison, pour l'a voir 
suivi. Effect! vement qu'en est-il resulte ? D'abord que, pendant l'examen 
juridique de son administration par les exarques, Sa Grandeur devait aller 
au monastere de Saint Naoum sur le lac d'Ochrida, puis seulement au 
monastere de Pirlepd, puis a celui de Serfidje. Finalement Sa Grandeur a 
obtenu de rester ici. 

" Ajoutez qu'au lieu de jouer k Monastir un role impartial, les deux ex- 
arques ont prealablement a tout examen pris fait et cause pour Mgr. Bene- 
dictos. En effet, le dimanche qui suivit leur arrive'e, l'eveque de Caroveria 
monta en chaire, et s'adressant au peuple l'exhorta h pardonner a Mgr. 
Be'tie'dictos toutes les offenses qu'il pouvait en avoir recues. 

s< ' D'ailleurs,' ajouta l'exarque orateur, vers la fin de son discours, ' Mgr. 
Benedictos est le meilleur eveque que la Grande Eglise puisse vous donner. 
Si vous en attendez un plus digne, plus capable et connaissant mieux 



A pp. E. 



VENAL ECCLESIASTICS. 



419 



vos besoms, vous etes dans l'erreur. Le mieux pour vous est done un 
pardon complet et ime reconciliation sincere avec un aussi bon et si digne 
pasteur.' 

" Et maintenant ai-je besoin de le dire, l'attitude des exarques et la revo- 
cation par le patriarcat de l'ordre donne" a Mgr. Be'ne'dictos d'aller a St. 
Naoum ou tout au moins a Pirlepe, sont a nos yeux la preuve tout en- 
semble et le resultat de la venalite. 

" Quant aux exarques, une chose va se presenter. Leur eVidente partialite 
envers Mgr. Be'ne'dictos rend completement superflu leur envoi ici et par 
consequent inutiles tous les sacrifices que nous nous imposons. 

" Or, les sacrifices deja considerables vont l'6tre chaque jour d'avantage, 
car notez ceci : outre leurs frais de voyage, aller et retour, et le loyer de la 
maison ou ils habitent, on leur paye trois livres par jour. Dimanche passe 
on a fait a l'eglise une quete pour eux et Ton a ramasse environ denx mille 
piastres. Mais qu'est-ce que. deux mille piastres? Les depenses d'une 
semaine. 

" Supposez maintenant qu'il faille renouveler cette quete tous les dimanches 
pendant six mois ou un an. Supposez aussi que les exarques mettent leur 
suffrage a prix et qu'il faille enche'rir Mgr. Benedictos, a quelle somme ne 
monteront -pas nos defenses? Le plus sage e'tait done pour nos deputes a 
Constantinople de repousser 1'ofTre d'exarques." 

In spite of the very indifferent French of the 4 Courrier d'Orient's ' Special 
Correspondent, it is easy to see from the above .quotation that the orthodox 
Church ne lave pas son linge sale en famille, and that reforms might be 
advantageously introduced amongst its hierarchy. The dispute between 
Monsignor Benedictos and his affectionate flock is not yet (May, 1868) by 
any means terminated ; the last accounts we have seen report that each 
party had sent three new representatives to Constantinople, and that those 
of the people had succeeded in making the other trio very drunk, and in 
this state they were presented to plead the Archbishop's cause befors the 
Patriarch, who is said to have been highly amused by the scene. How 
greatly such disputes and such manoeuvres tend ad major em Dei et ecclesice 
gloriam I and how much they must edify the infidel Mussulmans ! 



2 E 2 



420 



APPENDIX. 



App. F. G. H, 



APPENDIX F. 

The present value (May, 1868) of two sheniks of corn at Varna is 38 
piastres. As a proof that our calculation of the Papas's income is by no 
means exaggerated, we may mention that the pastor of Derekuoi (who has 
also another parish, and is not resident here) took away with him sixty 
skins of lambs, and at least ten okes of meat : the average value of the 
skins (to sell) is 8 piastres each, and of the meat 5 piastres per oke, making 
a total of 530 piastres, or nearly 9 piastres from each house, for the " volun- 
'tary contributions " collected in one day. 



APPENDIX Gr. 

Before the Bulgarian ecclesiastical schism, the tax paid to the Wladyka 
by the villages in this neighbourhood was 28 piastres ; to keep possession 
of his flock the Wladyka offered to reduce this sum to 16 piastres, a pro- 
position which was accepted or rejected according to the preponderance of 
Greek or Bulgarian blood amongst the different villages. 



APPENDIX H. 

In the neighbouring Vilayet of Adrianople, near Cape Emineh, there are 
now two bands of brigands, amounting to thirty in number : they are said 
to be from the Greek village of Akdere, whose inhabitants have for many 
years borne an infamous reputation as robbers and wreckers : one of the 
Authors was fired at a few days since whilst returning from that part of 
the country, probably by one of these gentlemen ; but as Hassan, who 
killed Kara Kostia, has set out on their track, and the Turks have the 
intention, if the robbers are not captured by the police, of making a grand 
lattue of the woods they frequent, it is likely that they will soon be exter- 
minated. 



App. I. 



PAY OF THE ARMY. 



421 



APPENDIX I. 
Pay of the Turkish Army. 

The same for all tranches of the Service. 

No. of Rations Monthly pay in Corresponding rank 

allowed. Piastres. Rank in Turkish. in English. 

Virtually un-| 14,000 Ferik Pasha. General of Division. 

limited j 7,000 Liva Pasha. General of Brigade. 

16 .. .. .. 4,500 Mirialai. Colonel. 

12 .. .. 4,000 Kaimakam. Lieut.-Colonel. 

8 1,800 Binbaschi. Major. 

5 .. .. .. 700 Colassi. Captain. 

4 400 Yuzbaschi. Lieutenant. 

2 250 Mulazim. Ensign. 

Non-commissioned Officers. 

80 Basch Chiaousch. Serjeant Major. 

60 Sera Chiaousch. Serjeant. 

50 Bculikemineh. Pay-sergeant. 

40 Onbaschi. Corporal. 



25 Nefer. Private. 

^ *" * *| TT , (The Fourriet 

60 Harmandar. { ^ i a 

I French Arr 

80 Demirji. Armourer. 

80 Marangos. Wheelwright. 

60 Nalbant. Farrier. 



40 Sakka. Water-carrer. 

v 

The Talimji baschi (in French, Adjutant Major) receives 1700 piastres 
monthly. 



422 



APPENDIX. 



App. K. 



Eations. (Tain.) 

(Roughly, 10 drams may be counted as equal to 1 oz. avoirdupois.) 



A new uniform, shirt, boots, &c, are served out every two years. 

The Turkish private soldier has to spend (owing to the bad quality of 
his uniform and the long time that Government supposes it to last) at least 
400 piastres per annum, out of his own pocket, for clothes. In addition to 
this, if he is receiving pay and rations he must spend 60 paras (H piastre) 
per diem in food, tobacco, &c, making 547 piastres annually, in addition ; 
if he receives neither, as is frequently the case, he must keep himself, 
which he can do upon 3 piastres per diem or 1095 piastres per annum. 

Thus we see that the pay and rations of the Turkish soldier being both 
insufficient to keep him, he is obliged whilst serving in the army to possess 
private means amounting (at least) from 947 to 1495 piastres per annum.* 



The following statistics, which we know to be correct, will show the 
difference between the produce of grain by Christian and Mussulman 
villages, and consequently the comparative poverty imposed upon the latter 
by the amount of labour confiscated by military service. All the villages 
mentioned, with the single exception of Akindji, may be taken as fairly 
representing the mass of those in this part of Bulgaria, being neither richer 
nor poorer than the average of those inhabited by Turk and Kay ah. It 
must be recollected that the "tithe" was raised last year from 10 to 15 
per cent. : — 



Bread 

Meat 

Fat 

Bice 

Soap 



Candle 




APPENDIX K. 



* These latter calculations are taken from information supplied by 
soldiers. 



App. L. 



GREEK JUSTICE. 



423 



1867. 

No. of kiles of grain 



Name of Village. No. of houses. paid as tax. 

Sindel (Mussulman) >. 40 000 

Evrein (Mixed) .. .. .. .. 100 2400 

Derekuoi (Christian) .. .. .. 60 2400 

Testiji (Mixed) .. .. „. .. 60 2000 

Akindji (Mussulman) „ .. 30 170 



After paying tlie tax, there remained per house : — 

To Sindel 85 Idles. 

„ Evrein 136 „ 

„ Derekuoi 226 „ 

„ Testiji 188 „ 

„ Aldndji 33 „ 

The small amount raised by the last named village is explained by the 
fact that of its inhabitants no less than fifteen are at present serving with 
the army, and of this number seven are heads of families which by their 
absence are entirely prevented from growing corn, and are dependent chiefly 
on the charity of their neighbours. 



APPENDIX L. 

A miller at Devna, a Eayah claiming Greek protection, employed a Bul- 
garian servant : one day the master used very harsh language to the man, 
who thereupon said that he would not remain to be abused in that manner, 
and that he should seek another service ; the miller said in that case he 
should not pay him his wages ; these the Bulgarian preferred to sacrifice 
rather than to stay in his place, and went to work in another mill. The 
miller went to the Greek Consulate, related the affair, and further accused 
his late servant of having threatened to kill him, an allegation of which he 
could bring no proofs whatever ; however, the servant was arrested, and is 
now in prison in Yarna. 



424 



APPENDIX. 



App. M. 



APPENDIX M. 

Extracts from the Memorandum of Fuad Pasha. 

" A une epoque encore peu eloignee, c'est a dire, avant la proclamation du 
Tanzimat, que Ton peut appeler la charte de l'egalite, les sujets du Sultan 
se divisaient en deux classes, separees l'une de l'autre par un prejuge en 
apparence invincible; une classe dominante representee par les Musul- 
mans, et une classe inferieure entierement soumise a l'autorite de la 
premiere et represented par la population non-Musulmane. Cette in- 
e'galite qui avait alors toute la force d'un dogme politique sans en avoir la 
legitimite, a ete supprime'e par Facte de Gulhane, qui a proclame l'egalite 
absolue de tous les sujets du Sultan, sans distinction de race et de religion. 
Mais cette grande reforme sociale n'etait a l'origine que la consecration d'un 
droit qui pouvait rester sterile et a l'Etat de lettre morte. II s'agissait de 
la convertir en fait, c'est a dire, de l'introduire dans les mceurs comme on 
venait de l'introduire dans les institutions. C'est a cette ceuvre ardue que 
le Gouvernement a consacre tous ses soins, et aujourd'hui la seconde partie 
de sa tache est accomplie. L'egalite' est admise; et non-seulement le 
principe n'en est plus contests, mais il a deja pene'tre et penetre chaque 
jour davantage dans les moeurs de la nation. 

" Essaiera-t-on d'attenuer l'importance de cette conquete morale en 
rappelant que le principe d'egalite n'est point accepte et mis en pratique 
au meme degre' dans toutes les parties de l'Empire ? Mais les exemples 
qu'on en pourrait citer ne temoigneront jamais que d'une chose qu'il n'est 
point dans la pensee du Gouvernement de contester, c'est qu'en Turquie, 
non plus que dans tout autre pays si avance qu'il soit dans la civilisation, 
on ne saurait improviser la reforme des moeurs. Si done chez certains 
individus et dans certaines localites les plus eloignees du centre adminis- 
tratif les convictions ne se sent point encore modifiers au profit des idees 
nouvelles, ce fait n'a rien d'alarmant, rien surtout qui puisse permettre de 
nier la realite ou de diminuer l'importance de la victoire obtenue par le 
Gouvernement Imperial. La preuve la plus eclatante qu'on en puisse 
fournir, c'est qu'aujourd'hui il serait impossible aux conseillers de la 
Turquie de demander et a la Sublime Porte d'adopter une reTorme nonvelle, 
quelle qu'en fut l'objet, sans que les bienfaits s'en etendissent imme'diate- 
ment a toutes les classes de la population, tellement assimilees entre elles 
par l'egalite' de condition que ce qui serait fait au profit de l'une profiterait 
aux autres au meme titre et au meme degre. 

" Les proprietes ecclesiastiques sont place'es sous la sauvegarde du droit 



App, M. 



CONCESSIONS TO THE CHRISTIANS. 



425 



-commiin, et d'ailleurs entierement assimilees, quant aux .privileges dont 
elles sont entourees, aux proprie'te's qui ont le meme caractere ou la meme 
affectation chez les Musulmans. 

" Les unes et les autres, en tant que fondations pieuses, sont affranchies 
des taxes qui pesent sur les autres immeubles. Cette egalite de condition 
est telle que les objets qui sont , destines a l'exercice des cultes non- 
Musulmans sont exemptes des droits de douane au meme titre que les 
objets consacres au culte des Musulmans. 

" Aucune entrave n'a jamais ete apporte'e a la construction de nouvelles 
eglises, ou a la reparation des anciennes. Loin d'y mettre obstacle, le 
Souverain et le Gouvernement viennent sou vent en aide a ces fondations 
pieuses, soit par des concessions gratuites de terrains soit par des subven- 
tions pe'cuniaires. 

" Enfin Ton peut proclamer hautement que dans aucun pays les cultes 
ne s'exorcent avec plus de liberte, plus de tolerance, et d'nne maniere plus 
ostensible et publique qu'en Turquie. C'est la une verite dont temoigne- 
ront tous ceux qui ont habite ou visite le pays. 

" Les mesures prises pour interdire l'emploi de toute denomination in- 
jurieuse tiree des differences de religion et de race ont leur plein et entier 
effet ; et ces appellations irritantes sont exclues aussi bien du langage 
ordinaire dans les rapports d'individu a individu que des pieces et actes 
officiels. Au surplus le Code Penal, plus re'cemment promulgue, a edicte' 
des peines severes contre ceux qui enfreindraient ces prohibitions. 

" Le principe de l'admissibilite des sujets du Sultan sans distinction 
de religion, a tous les emplois publics, solennellement proclame par le 
Gouvernement Imperial, a ete depuis lors mis en pratique. C'est aujour- 
d'hui un fait accompli. Beaucoup d'emplois importants sont deja confies a 
des Chretiens, tant dans les administrations de la capitale que dans les 
provinces et dans les le'gations a l'etranger ; et si Ton considere le nombre 
des Chretiens admis depuis quelques annexes aux fonctions publiques, on 
restera convaincu que le Gouvernement Imperial desire faire l'appel le plus 
loyal et le plus serieux au concours de ses sujets non-Musulmans et donner 
au principe d'egalite' tout le de'veloppement qu'il comporte. 

" C'est au meme titre et dans la meme pensee que les ^coles civiles du 
Gouvernement, telles que l'ecole de medicine, 1'ecole des mines, des ponts 
et chaussees, l'ecole administrative, etc., s'ouvrent egalement devant les 
eleves Musulmans et non-Musulmans. 

" La loi sur les Yilayets realise et au-dela le vceu exprime dans le Firman 
de 1856 au sujet de la presence dans les conseils de FEmpire d'un certain 
nombre de delegues des populations non-Musulmanes. Aux termes de 

2 F 



426 



APPENDIX. 



App. M. 



cette loi les Conseils Provinciaux doivent etre composes de membres 
Musulmans et non-Musulmans, librement elus par les populations, suivant 
itn systeme approprie a l'e'tat des moeurs dans les provinces de l'Empire. 

" Dans le Grand Conseil de Justice, qui est le premier corps de l'Etat, 
siegent au meme titre que leurs collegues Musulmans, des membres 
Chretiens, non pas seulement, comme le promettait le Firman de 1856, 
avec des pouvoirs purement momentaires, mais d'une maniere normale et a 
titre permanent. 



THE END. 




LONDON : PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, DUKE STREET, STAMFORD STREET, 
AND CHARING CROSS. 



